


Love Can Be Chosen

by bubblelaureno



Series: Love Can Be Chosen [1]
Category: Love Island (Video Game)
Genre: Additional tags will be added as the story continues, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-03
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:00:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 33
Words: 163,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26165290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bubblelaureno/pseuds/bubblelaureno
Summary: When everyone has a soulmate, how will you know how to find yours? Soulmates are unexpected. Everyone has one, but you have spent your life without yours. When you are faced with a choice between many, but you know the real choice is between two only, how will you narrow it down?Updates on Thursdays!
Relationships: Lucas Koh/Main Character (Love Island), Marisol/Main Character (Love Island)
Series: Love Can Be Chosen [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2137677
Comments: 9
Kudos: 39





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is going to be a long fic, and is a slow burn with some tweaks to canon. I haven’t written any fanfic in 4 years, so doing this is so nerve wracking. Thank you so much to everyone who has given me feedback, I love all of you so much x  
> Important note: I’ve changed the name of one of my minor characters, Abby has been changed to Sophie  
> Where else you can find me  
> Tumblr, Twitter and Instagram: bubblelaureno  
> Reddit: narcissasdaffodil

Chapter One:  
“The safest place I can be is right here next to you.” Her eyes were drawn to the words encircling her left wrist, in golden ink. Or what passed for it, but was a form of tattoo ink, she realised. These words were destined to be said by her soulmate, but in 24 years, she still hadn’t met the person who she was destined to spend her life with. She had signed up for Love Island partially due to a dare, and the other part was genuinely wanting to try and see if somewhere designed for love would give her the chance to find her person.

Alecto knew that saying other people’s soulmate words was frowned upon. Tricking someone into having a long lasting relationship or even a friendship with you by saying the words that belonged to them was not illegal, but it should be. She had never made the mistake herself, she never read other people’s soulmate tattoos specifically to avoid that error.

Her ex-best friend Étienne did not follow the same rule, landing her into a relationship that was doomed from the start. He kept trying to influence her to say the words on his skin, but she knew that by saying them they were both giving up their chance to find their true soulmate. People had been imprisoned for less, but a false relationship surprisingly didn’t encounter the same form of punishment.

Having to pretend to be something that you will never be takes a toll on you, Alecto knew that from experience. Not only did Étienne say the words engraved on her arm, he broke up with her after discovering his own soulmate was Andromeda Black, who she had previously been close to. Best friends, to be exact. She discovered one of her best mates had only been by her side due to the two of them possibly being each other’s soulmates, and because of a hint he’d given. And when it turned out her ex-best friend was Étienne’s true half, she left Alecto in the dust, with no hint of apology.

That ‘relationship’ had lasted for 2 years of her life; he had finally broken it off in the summer before Year 13. That relationship had caused a lot of damage to her heart, meaning she stayed away from serious relationships for a while. She knew she would be considered inexperienced to some, only having had two relationships in her life, but she wasn’t lucky enough to have met her soulmate in high school or in university as some people she knew were. Somewhere based around love was as good a place as any to hopefully meet her soulmate.

She took her first steps out of the jeep as it came to a stop. The villa definitely was unexpected, it wasn’t like anything she’d seen before. Butterflies fluttered in her belly, and she fiddled with the end of her dark braid. She heard another jeep approaching and turned her head. The sound of high heels announced the arrival of another girl.

“Hi. You’re drop dead gorgeous. I’m Hope. What’s your name?” Hope smiled. She towered over Alecto, 5’9 at her first guess. She was gorgeous and had long hair in cornrows and dark eyes.

“I’m Alecto, you’re stunning too.” She returned the smile. It usually took a while for her to warm up to people, and she saw no appeal in filling up silence with mindless chatter about nothing much. Being able to enjoy a silence with someone was definitely a good sign. “It looks amazing here, want to explore the bedroom?”Alecto asked.

She walked inside, the sound of heels behind her making it clear Hope was following her. She felt herself zoning out, the conversation was becoming difficult to hold her attention. She had always disliked small talk; and she preferred more serious discussions or conversations in which she ended up learning something new as opposed to airy fairy pointless conversation.

The door clicked open, and she looked up. _Wow_. The new girl was blonde with pink dip dyed ends, gorgeous tattoos and hypnotising green eyes. She felt herself staring, and it took the other girl hugging her to snap herself out of it. With some luck, she didn’t notice the extended eye contact, that wouldn’t have been a great first impression that‘s for sure. She felt herself zone out again, only coming back into the conversation to hear the tail end of a question asking her about her profession.

“I just finished medical school, so I’m a newly qualified junior doctor.” Alecto fiddled with a loose curl of dark hair, biting her lip. She was used to people automatically thinking she was younger than she was, as a result of her being a lot shorter than average, but assuming that all people would believe this likely wasn’t the best idea.

Lottie was cut off when a third head peers around the door, and a shorter redhead walked inside. It was certainly a relief to Alecto that not everyone here was considerably taller than her, both Hope and Lottie were at least 5‘9.

“Hi! I’m relieved to not be the first one here, I’m Hannah.” Her nerves were clear in her expression; her hands were clasped tightly together and she was fiddling with them. Both Lottie and Hope carried confidence like their own personal armour.Seeing someone who was more timid relaxed Alecto enough that she could trust herself to not zone out again and get lost in her own thoughts. She would regularly feel herself fading into the background around people with strong personalities.

_Maybe that was why Étienne chose you to lead on, in his search for the one? As you must be desperate enough to fall for it, and were easy to discard, like a crumpled piece of paper? After all, if a girl obsessed with popularity and staying on top was his true match, why he would ever consider you isn’t worth a second thought. It’s actually useful that it fell apart, living a life based on falsehoods is no true way to live a full life._

She felt a hand on her shoulder, and jumped out of her skin. She didn’t intend to zone out again, it just happened. This was definitely something she had to work on. She looked up at Lottie, her cheeks flushing. The previous times, she’d been able to jump back into the conversation where she’d left off.

“Sorry. I didn’t hear, could you please repeat? My hearing isn’t the best, so I do miss stuff.” She kept her voice steady enough, focusing on speaking slowly and clearly. She hoped that the conversation would be able to hold her attention fully this time.

“You’re gorgeous. How come you’re single?” Lottie said.

“I just got out of a long term relationship. Long distance is difficult, especially when you have to navigate time zones too. The time difference between the UK and California was just too big, and I didn’t want to sacrifice my routine in order to stay up too late. We both decided it was better to just end it.” She replied. Ending it had definitely hurt, but both of them had agreed it was better for the long term, and were able to stay friends after.  
“Long distance is definitely hard. I know we only just met, but you’re a definite catch in my eyes.” Lottie slid her arm around her, and she naturally leaned into it. _Hmm. ‘Definite catch’? Is that subtle flirting or are you just reading too much into it again?_

“I’ve just had a string of bad relationships, from cheaters to people who think getting ready means two squirts of aftershave. I was starting to feel like I was cursed.”

“Where are the good men out there?” Hannah asked.

Alecto nodded. She had only had two relationships. Étienne was based solely on a lie, so she wasn’t entirely certain she should count that one. But Sophie was something different, and if she hadn’t gotten the job offer which led her to LA, there was a chance they’d still be together. Wasting time with dreams and ‘what if’s’ certainly was not a good use of her time.The fantasies in which they were still together made the smack down to Earth when she came back to reality even more difficult to handle.

“The worst part is, you can spend ages trying to make something work, and then you realise you should have just admitted you picked the wrong guy in the first place.” That entire statement was based on the ‘relationship’ with Étienne that she wasted so long with.

“Books make it seem like the right guy will just turn up, but mine never got the message.” Hannah’s voice was able to remove her from her thoughts yet again. Sometimes she did wish she could box up some memories in a pretty package, and put that in the deepest darkest depths of her brain so she could spend less time consumed in past memories.

“Maybe you’ll find your Prince Charming this summer.” Alecto replied, giving Hannah a smile. The other girl grinned back at her, reaching her ocean blue eyes.

“Maybe we could team up and help each other find the perfect person for each other. Then we could get each other all coupled up. I don’t want to end up fighting with you guys over some man.”

“That definitely makes sense to me. Trust is definitely essential, and having a group of friends is beneficial in these situations.” Alecto replied, an easy smile reaching her lips.  
She heard the click of heels as the conversation was interrupted again, and she looked up to see another girl approaching. Her mind went blank, and she was mesmerised by the new arrival. The final girl had long loose ombré hair, and wasn’t that much taller than her, 5’3 at most.

“I’m Marisol!” She had a strong, confident walk, and was able to hold Alecto’s attention in a way not many people could. Confidence in the traditional form was always something that didn’t come naturally to her, some of that was related to her natural personality. People who wore confidence like a second skin always fascinated her, mainly as she was so different herself.

“That’s a very pretty name.” She said, giving her a small smile. She felt different around Marisol, in a way she couldn’t put a finger on. There was a rumour that being around the person who was your soulmate felt automatically different, like the world remained in black and white until you met the person who is your perfect match, which would bring the world into full technicolour. Alecto wasn’t entirely certain about this rumour in particular, some of the soulmate theories sounded like a fairytale to her. She believed in the theory itself, but not necessarily all the separate theories related to it. She had never met anyone who had met their soulmate, so maybe that was a factor there.

“Thank you!” The smile that she gave Alecto caused something to spark in her heart, a feeling she’d only felt once before, but it was different with Sophie . It took much longer to gain a similar feeling, they had to be friends first. It scared her in a way that the spark appeared this quickly, but there was also a possible thing with Lottie to add to the equation here.

“We were just saying it’s important that the girls support each other, although that will be harder when the boys arrive.” Lottie said, updating Marisol on the prior conversation.

“I respect that we should be friends, but I go after what I want. I won’t compete for the sake of it, but if I see someone I like…” Marisol cuts herself off, noticing the other girls staring at her. “Look, I didn’t come here to make enemies...but I’m not going to miss a chance at love because of someone else’s feelings.” She explained. That philosophy interested Alecto. Mainly because she put other people’s feelings before her own, regularly, so being that cut-throat was the polar opposite to her. She pushed her glasses up her nose, trying to resist the urge to tap her foot or fiddle with something again.

She was aware that she’d missed part of the conversation, again. In between her zoning out regularly and her hearing, it appeared that the world was conspiring against her. Or she was just imagining that, as the world doesn’t revolve around her. She tried to connect the dots, hopefully filling in the gap where she’d lost complete track of everything again.

“You’ve got to be brave if you’re going to find love.” Hope said, likely trying to reassure Hannah.

“I’m more of the quiet and mysterious type myself. I think there’s something interesting about keeping yourself back. I prefer to not reveal everything at once.” Alecto replied, giving Hannah a small smile. She hoped that they wouldn’t get the wrong opinion of her, she wasn’t pretentious in the slightest, even if her previous statement can be seen in that light.

“I’m glad it’s not just me.” Hannah returned the smile, she appeared to relax a little bit.  
“I’m not about that take-it-easy lifestyle. I don’t know how I’d manage everything if I did: friends, family, work, dating, studying, reading, hobbies…”

“That’s a lot, hun. How do you manage?” Hannah appeared to read Alecto’s mind, she was thinking the same thing about Marisol’s lifestyle. She maintains a level of planning herself, it helped in terms of managing uni and everything else, but not to the extent Marisol appeared to. She’d been able to take it a little bit easier since graduating though, but soon that would be replaced by work. She had hoped that this would be a perfect break, before she launched back into life again, maybe with her soulmate, as it was Love Island after all. She admired that level of dedication though.

“I drink a lot of coffee. Likely too much, I could go for one now, actually.” That definitely made sense. Alecto drank a lot of tea herself, she had never been a big coffee person. She respected other people’s opinions, and enjoyed discussing the reasoning behind people’s opinions. She wasn’t rigid in most of her opinions, she could be convinced of changing them if the other person can talk her around.

In the unexpected spot of quiet, she hears a small noise, stopping all of them in their tracks.

That was likely to be the first text of the season.

“Guys! I got a text!”  
Lottie read out the text, causing everyone to get excited.

“Girls, it’s time to meet the boys! There’s 5 sexy men waiting to meet you on the lawn. You’ll take it in turns to make an entrance and pick a boy. But don’t relax once you’ve coupled up! The boys all stay up for grabs until every girl has chosen. Will the next girl out steal your hunk and put you on the bench?”

_It might be easier if someone else goes first, maybe Lottie or Marisol._

She feels her phone vibrate, checking it. She didn’t want to go first, but someone has to.

She read out the text.   
“The girl going first will be Alecto!”  
“Good luck!”  
She walked out of the villa and stopped, noticing the line of five gorgeous men on the lawn. She scanned down the line, one-by-one.

“Alright? My name’s Gary, nice to meet you.”

She smiled at Gary, and he grinned back. Okay, it definitely seemed like he was a good option, but she wanted to see all the options first, before she made a concrete decision. He looked like a nice, normal bloke which was definitely up her street. She couldn’t feel any obvious sparks yet, but it was still early days.

She turned her attention to the next boy.

“Hi, I’m Noah.”

He was definitely a man of few words. She was a quiet person herself but that didn’t necessarily mean she should go for someone with the same personality as her. She usually waited first to get to know people before giving a judgement, so having to judge people based on first impressions was difficult for her.

“Hi, beautiful. I’m looking forward to making a connection with you.”

Rocco was definitely not her type, that was something she was certain of. At the moment, Gary was the one she was most likely to pick. She wanted to see all 5 boys before she made her final decision though.

“I’m Ibrahim. Girl, you’re like winning all four major golf tournaments in one year...because you’re a grand slam!”

She wasn’t the sporty type at all, she did work out but wasn’t a major sports fan, so Ibrahim was likely out. His chat wasn’t exactly great either.

She turned to the last boy in the line.

“Hey gorgeous. Saving the best till last, were you? I’m like the sweet dessert at the end of a main course of beefcake.”

By this point, she had made her decision. There were no clear sparks just yet, nothing like earlier with Lottie and Marisol, but it was unrealistic to expect instant sparks, it made sense to have to work a little bit for a soulmate connection. She silenced the voice in the back of her head, the part of her which doubted soulmate connections. Past relationships didn’t mean that the idea of soulmates wasn’t real, tapping into the cynical half of her brain didn’t do her any favours.

She checked her phone as she heard the tell tale beep.  
“OK boys, now I get to ask you the all important question: if you fancy me, please step forward.”

She waits and all the boys apart from Noah step forward. That was definitely a little surprising, but she was interested in why they’d stepped forward for her. Currently she was pretty set on Gary.

“Gary, why did you step forward?” She asked.  
“You look great, that always helps. My type is definitely someone who puts a bit of effort into their appearance. I’m kind of a simple guy. I just figured you looked a bit of a sort, so I thought I’d try it.”

She nodded. Even though she had mostly made up her mind, she was interested in hearing the other boys’ reasons too.

“Ibrahim, why did you step forward?”  
Ibrahim grinned. “I sort of just thought, I’ve got to take a shot, you know?”

That definitely didn’t provide much information, or change her mind. His chat wasn’t her thing either, she was awkward enough on her own, so it made sense she was looking for someone who was a little different to her.

“Rocco, you’ve stepped forward…”  
“Of course I did. I feel like we could have something really special.” He cut her off mid sentence, which wasn’t appealing. He was a smooth talker, but definitely not her type at all.  
“Bobby, why did you step forward?”

“You seem like the kind of girl that doesn’t go over the top with her look. I rate that. I don’t want the competition when we stand next to each other, you know. Joking, of course. Anyway, you know if you pick me you’ll be laughing all the way to the bedroom.” He grinned.

“And in it.” Gary added.  
Even though Bobby played that off as a joke, that hurt her a little bit. It was odd how the two of them had completely opposite opinions of her. She raised one eyebrow and watched him quizzically.

“I know I only just met you all, but I do have to choose, so...the boy I want to couple up with is Gary.” She grinned and Gary returned the grin.  
“Nice one, darling. I’m really looking forward to getting to know you better.”  
The other boys applauded and she went to stand next to Gary.

“Congratulations Gary. I guess I’m not the big fish in a small pond anymore.” Ibrahim said.  
“It’s still all to play for though.” Gary said, and smiled at her. “Hi, by the way.”  
“Hi.”  
“This isn’t how I usually meet people, but I’ve got to say… I’m loving it so far.”  
She nodded, feeling herself zone out again until she heard Gary’s voice again. She had missed the rest of the recoupling, leaving her confused for a period of time until she got her bearings again.

“So, are we all good? Is that it?”  
“Um… I think so.” Hannah replied nervously. “Isn’t there usually like, another person?”  
“What do you mean?” Alecto replied, taking the opportunity to scan the couples around her: her and Gary, Lottie and Rocco, Hope and Rahim, Hannah and Noah and Bobby and Marisol. The couples definitely appeared even.

“There’s five girls and five boys. We’re evenly matched.” Hannah tapped her foot, fiddling with the end of her braid.

“I wouldn’t worry about it, mate. I don’t reckon there’s going to be anyone else for now. We’re all here, we’re in our couples, but we still haven’t really met each other yet.” Gary replied.

“Exactly.” Marisol looks him in the eye with a mischievous grin on her face. “Let’s crack on.”  
The islanders start to get to know each other. Alecto is silent and deep in thought, her eyes wander over in Gary’s direction. She definitely wants to take him somewhere a little quieter, she’s better one on one regarding people.

“Why not take a picture, it’ll last longer.” His words startle her, she didn’t expect him to notice her staring at him, which is a little stupid on second thought. People in general tend to notice someone staring at them.

“Come with me. Let’s get to know each other.” She gives him a small smile, working on channelling her inner confidence. Which appears to have worked, as he stared at her for a bit.

“You don’t beat around the bush, do you? I’m well into that, if I’m honest.”

They walk around the pool and sit on the sun loungers. It feels much calmer being away from the group, she’s far better one on one anyway. She took in a couple of deep breaths until her racing heart settled down. She turned her head and focused on Gary next to her, giving him her undivided attention.

“If I’m honest, it’s such a weird trip coming in here and meeting all these girls. It’s like, I’ve been here five minutes and already I’m sitting next to the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen.”

She blushed, and played with the end of her hair, that was a clear line but it did work on her, as there was something there, a small flower growing deep within her.

“You definitely mean that?” She asked. She wanted to be certain, people had said similar things to her in the past and later told her that it was ‘just a joke’ and they ‘didn’t see her that way.’ As a result, she found herself regularly second guessing people’s compliments, she was working on teaching herself to accept them, but it was taking a while.

“Of course I do! The competition is pretty fierce out here. For both of us. My head is spinning. It’s all so much to take in. How are you finding it?” He replied. He definitely appeared genuine, first impressions were definitely good and she hoped he could live up to them.

“It’s a lot all at once. I’m not usually around this amount of people, staying focused is definitely a little difficult. I’m not sure if you noticed, but I managed to lose focus again earlier. It’s a relief that people don’t seem to be picking it up, it can be difficult to hear with this many people.”

“Tell me about it. I never even thought I’d make it in, and now there’s so much happening all at once.”

He looks around, and the sound of the other Islanders chatting drifts across the lawn.  
“So, you picked me?”

“You noticed that, huh?” She replied, biting her lip. She was able to maintain eye contact, and it appears she hadn’t scared him off yet.

 _You don’t scare off everyone, you’re being too hard on yourself. Snap out of it, and maybe you’ll find the lasting connection you’re looking for. Love can be chosen, both in terms of soulmate connections and lasting relationships._  
She focused back on him again, she definitely had a problem with staying too much in her head.

“I guess we should get to know each other a bit. Ask me anything! I’m an open book.”  
“What are you looking for on Love Island?” She asked the first question to come into her head, the first reasonable one, anyway.

“Well I’m single, obviously. I haven’t had much luck dating so I thought this would be a good opportunity to put that right. And I think I might have made a pretty good start with that already… This is fun. Ask me another?”

“I want to know what’s something you want to change in your life?” The second question was deeper than the first, having some time to think of questions definitely made them better overall.

“Wow, it’s go big or go home with you, isn’t it? I’d have to say...keeping a better hold on that winning lottery ticket. Can’t believe I let it blow away. It wasn’t worth millions, about ten grand. But that’s not to be sniffed at! Still, maybe I can walk away with five times that amount and a beautiful woman to go with it now we’re here… This is fun! I like being interviewed. Ask me one more?”

“What’s the weirdest place you’ve ever had sex?”  
“Up a tree.”  
“Um...okay. That doesn’t seem that weird?”  
“While a herd of angry deer circled below…”

“Wait, what? How?” She was definitely slightly gobsmacked. That definitely beat some of the stories she’d heard.

“Me and this girl, we were having a nice walk around the countryside, and we managed to startle a herd of deer. Usually, they spook and run off, but for some reason their head stag took a real dislike to me. We had no choice but to climb this nearby tree to get away! And then they just kept watch.Well, it started getting cold, so we huddled together for warmth and one thing kinda led to another...I’ve never been able to look at an oak the same way since.”  
It became silent as both of them looked at each other.

“I’m really looking forward to getting to know you.”

He kisses her on the cheek. She hears a group of Islanders laughing somewhere behind her, and feels her cheeks flush. There’s a small spark, not as strong as earlier with Marisol and Lottie, but there’s definitely a little flame there.

“I guess we should go and get to know the others a little better, too…”  
“Yeah, you’re right. Chat more later, though?” She nodded.“Oh, yeah, for sure.”


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two:  
All the Islanders are chatting in the garden. Alecto scans around the group, finding herself drawn to multiple separate conversations, she moves to listen to Lottie and Hannah. She prefers listening to people when in large groups, talking escapes her around this many people.

“Wow. Ten hotties alone in a beautiful Villa. It’s like the start of a horror movie.” Lottie said  
“I was thinking it was more glamorous than that. It’s like how all those classic romance novels start. A big house, a lot of eligible young men…” Hannah trails off, lost in thought. She is clearly a romantic at heart. It interested Alecto how two people so different as Lottie and Hannah appear to have been drawn together. They were like the sun and moon or two sides of the same coin.

“And Bobby.” Gary chipped in, cutting into Alecto’s stream of thoughts.

“Hey, I’m eligible.” Bobby replied.

“Are you? I’m pretty sure no-one’s been called eligible since like, the olden days.” Gary replied.

“I’m not even sure what it means, to be honest. I just wanted to be in if everyone else was.”

“So, we’re all here. What’s next?” Ibrahim said.

“We should all get to know each other.” Alecto replied. It made sense, seeing as there’s the whole summer ahead with the same people.

“It’s time to kick back in the sunshine and have a drink.” Gary said, scanning the lawn for something matching that description. He spotted a table with champagne, and ten champagne flutes on it and headed straight for it.

“A bit fancier than I’m used to, but I can make it work.” There’s a satisfying ‘pop’ as he opens the champagne and bubbles spill down the side of the bottle.

“Amazing! That sound never gets old.” Hope said.

“I love the first part of a new adventure. I remember a time when I’d taken my van down the Adriatic coast...There were about ten of us, and we all met at this tiny cocktail bar…” Rocco trailed off in the middle of his story.

“Sounds like a great story, mate, but you want one of these or not?” Gary cut in.

Rocco stopped talking and went to help Gary with the drinks.

“Why don’t all you men fetch us some drinks?” Hope asked.

“Making the boys work for it, I love that.” Lottie sounded impressed by Hope’s quick thinking.

The boys walk off towards the drinks.

“What about you, Alecto? Want to give us a hand?” Gary asked.

“I’d rather stay with the girls if that’s okay. I’m clumsy so probably won’t be much use anyway.” She replied, giving him a small smile before walking in the direction of the girls, who had already spotted the sun loungers.

“Didn’t want to go with Gary?” Hope asked, when Alecto had finally joined them.

“I feel like I still want to spend time with my girls, we hardly know each other yet.” Alecto replied. She noticed Lottie grinning back at her, obviously the blonde agreed there. There were definitely some of them she was more interested in than others, but starting off on the wrong foot by putting them against each other definitely wasn’t a good idea in her eyes. Starting a clique was exactly the thing she wanted to avoid, she had enough of that previously after the situation with Andromeda and Étienne, the surrounding group of cliquey people caused an already bad situation to get worse.

_Assuming the worst won’t do you any favours. What if you meet your best friend here, as well as the love of your life?_

She was able to avoid fully zoning out again, mainly as she cared about Lottie’s opinions and Lottie in general. Whether her attention slipped did sometimes depend on the people she was with.

“I’m so glad you get it. I wanted to check in with my girls, see how we’re all doing.” Lottie said.

“How are you feeling about Gary, Alecto?” Hannah asked, fiddling with the end of her braid, while her eyes darted from side to side. If Alecto had thought she was nervous herself, Hannah seemed petrified, which was a clear contrast to the others. Hannah’s nerves had a strange calming effect on Alecto,enabling her to gain a level head again.

“He seems like a decent guy. There isn’t much to go on so far, given that we’ve only just met.” She replied, keeping it to the point. Until she was fully comfortable, she preferred to speak as little as possible. There were clear conflicting vibes in the group overall, which was putting her on edge a little. Not enough to be noticeable by the others, unless they were particularly observant which Alecto hoped for her sake they weren’t.

“I agree with Alecto. A decent guy is a good find. I thought I’d found the one for me, but I didn’t account for someone who believes in loyalty stealing him from under my nose.” Hope sent a glare directly at Hannah. Something clicked in Alecto’s mind, somehow she’d missed that through zoning out earlier. “Ibrahim is nice, I suppose, but he wasn’t my first choice.”  
Lottie rolled her eyes.

“Solid, dependable Gary.” To Alecto’s relief, Lottie was able to bring the conversation back to even ground again, avoiding the storm cloud of an argument that was in danger of eruption from Hope.

“He’s a bit vanilla for you, I take it?” Marisol asked.

“He would probably get you a pint at least.” Lottie replied.

“I would hope so! Or a glass of wine, anyway.” Hannah said, looking around the group. She appeared to have the least experience, especially being the youngest. “Wait...Have you dated guys that wouldn’t even buy you a drink?”

_Oh my sweet summer child. Hopefully you’ll be less naive eventually. Besides, if you did steal Noah, that’s impressive work._

“You still have a lot to learn. I seem to always end up with guys who are like, allergic to spending money. It’s great that you’re planning and saving for the future, but at least buy me a drink when we go out. We all work hard, and we deserve to have some fun on the weekend. Don’t you think, Alecto?” Hope asked, her frosty tone still remaining.

“It’s not about spending the money, it’s about what that represents. I don’t need fancy things, but I do want to feel like I’m worth their time.” She replied, keeping her tone light and hoping to shift the tension hanging over the group. Being the person who had to keep the peace was something she was familiar with.

“I can’t imagine dating a guy who didn’t treat me like a princess.” Hannah replied. Alecto raised her eyebrows at that, she disliked materialistic people heavily, she had dealt with enough of that previously. She tried to avoid being judgemental though, this was only the first day, first impressions weren’t enough to go on.

“To be fair, I’ve dated cheap boys and flashy men who want to impress and they’re both as bad as each other. You want someone with a kind heart, not someone who puts you on a pedestal.” Alecto nodded at Hope’s words. The philosophy she spoke of was something her and Hope had in common.

“I just want someone who thinks I’m worth it.” Hannah replied. Her voice was quiet, she was clearly not used to this kind of conversation. To Alecto’s relief, the impending doom in terms of the fight held off, it appeared that Hope was too absorbed in the conversation to start a fight with Hannah over Noah.

“I’d rather have someone smart enough to tell me when I’m wrong. Someone I can learn from. Wouldn’t you, Alecto?” Marisol chipped in. Both her and Lottie had been keeping fairly quiet during this whole exchange.

Hmm. Now they’re asking her to choose between someone with money, someone with a good heart and someone who is smart. Intellect is certainly useful, but at the same time, dealing with someone talking down to you because they assume they’re smarter is pretty infuriating. Having enough money to survive comfortably is what one would definitely want. She disliked materialistic people and those who had more money than they could deal with. A good heart was definitely a good thing, and she definitely enjoyed being around kind people. She did try her best to emulate that herself. She enjoyed deeper chats and talking at length with someone and learning new things, so she supposed intelligence would certainly be her choice.

She heard the sound of someone clearing their throat, and that brought her back into the present. _Whoops. Guess you just zoned out, again._

“Sorry, I wanted to give it proper thought before I answered. Anyway, being around someone smart is important to me, as I need to be able to respect what they say.” She caught Marisol’s eye as she looked up and noticed the other girl had a wide grin on her face. Something fluttered in her stomach, a strange feeling. It reminded her of when she first met Sophie, though Marisol was the direct opposite to her ex.

“I’m so with you on that.” Marisol replied.

“So no-one else agrees with me, then?” Hannah seemed a little miffed, like she was expecting them to be in full agreement with her. _It’s not like we’ll all become a massive girl gang who agrees on everything. In actual fact, healthy disagreement is good for a relationship in general._

“Well, I’m glad you’ve all talked this out, but I’m gonna be the one to say it...I’ve totally been going by body until now. I like hot guys, and I don’t mind admitting that. And these boys are…” Lottie trailed off.

“Hush! Here they come!” Marisol gave her a little look.

Alecto looked up and noticed the boys coming over. Noah handed around the drinks.

“Cheers, everyone. Welcome to Love Island.” Gary said.

Everyone called out “Cheers!” and clinked the glasses together. There was a period of silence while everyone drank.

“That’s delicious. So classy.” Hope gave a satisfied grin.

“I’m never going to get why people like this stuff. Can’t go wrong with a little Cheeky V, you get me? They used to do 2 for 1 pitchers of that down my local on Fridays.” Gary said.  
Marisol winked at him.

“What a revelation. I can’t wait to see what else we’re going to find out about each other.” She said, a flirty tone to her words. Alecto watched her quizzically; she wasn’t overly territorial in the slightest so it didn’t bother her.

Gary looked at his phone.

“It’s me! Guys! I got a text! Islanders, it’s time to find out who’s hot under the collar, and who’s playing it cool. Head over to the fire pit to play a game of Truth or Dare.” Gary said, excitedly.

_Oh dear. This is a definite throwback to high school, not that you even participated in this stuff then. Maybe everyone will see how boring you truly are._

“This is my game, you guys! Let’s go!” Hope said, a wide grin on her face. To Alecto’s relief, the tension from earlier appeared to have dissolved entirely.

There were 2 stacks of cards set out by the fire pit. One stack was marked ‘Truth’ and one stack was labelled ‘Dare’.

“Oh my gosh, yes. We’ve got cards and everything.” Hope said.

“Serious Truth or Dare business!” Bobby replied.

“This is not what I was expecting at all.” Rocco said.

“Haven’t you done this before, Rocco? You have to pick truth or dare, then do what it says on the card. When you’ve had a turn, you pick someone else to go.” Hope explained.

“Oh. I thought we’d get to ask each other some questions we made up.” Rocco replied. He looked disappointed.

“Wow, Rocco. I don’t want to even think about the kind of thing you’d ask.” Lottie said. She gave him a look, and Rocco grinned and winked at her in return.

Alecto knew it would certainly be a job to keep herself fully concentrated and to prevent herself from zoning out again. With some luck she’d be able to fade into the background again, these kinds of party games were hardly her cup of tea.

“OK, is everyone ready? Let’s crack on.”

Lottie nudged Alecto and whispered “I guess she’s going first then…” She sounded a little miffed, Hope did appear to have a habit of taking things over.

“You’re right, she’s totally over the top.” Alecto whispered back, without hesitation. She was a little wary of Hope, considering the fact she nearly started an argument earlier with the way she talked to Hannah.

Lottie grinned back at her.

“I’m glad I’m not the only one.” She sounded pleased, and slid her arm around Alecto’s shoulder. Alecto leaned into it, she felt relaxed being closer to Lottie. Something about her just made the nerves inside her vanish, and it interested Alecto as to what was causing that. She felt warm, and an easy smile grew on her face.

“OK, I choose Dare.” Hope took the first card from the top of the deck. “...Give a foot massage to one of the other Islanders.” She clearly wasn’t all too pleased by the dare, by the look on her face. Alecto wasn’t too much of a fan of feet herself,so she was relieved it wasn’t her. She watched Hope carefully, interested in who she’d choose. She had a feeling in the back of her head, that Hope would choose Noah, but she hoped the hunch was wrong.

“Wow! Getting right in there!” Bobby said. He sounded excited. Alecto was unsure whether it was starting the game that was causing the excitement, or feet in general.

“Ugh, gross! I don’t think I could touch someone’s feet on the first day I met them. I’m definitely choosing truth when it’s my turn.” Hannah screwed up her face at the mere mention of feet. Okay. There’s definitely some kind of phobia or something there.

“What, and miss out on all the fun? ‘Suck someone’s toes’ might be in there too.” Bobby replied, teasing Hannah. _Ew, ew, ew. That’s far worse. Some things should remain far away from your mouth, and feet is definitely one of those. Also since we’ve only just met, we have absolutely no idea whether someone has stinky feet or not._

“Gross!” Hannah instantly responded, the look on her face showing her clear repulsion at the idea of feet.

“OK, well I think it’s time to get this person out of his shell a little bit...so the person I choose is...Noah!” Hope said, the excited tone back in her voice.

_Of course she chose him, that’s hardly that much of a surprise. It probably is a little unfair to the actual person she’s coupled up with though, poor Ibrahim._

She felt Lottie tense slightly where she had her arm around Alecto, it was clear she had a similar reaction to Alecto herself. Lottie had definitely appeared to take Hannah under her wing very quickly, and clearly wanted to protect her. Her worries weren’t misplaced, Alecto understood her reaction as Hope was a fairly formidable opponent in terms of competition for Noah’s affections. Alecto looked around to check the reaction of both Ibrahim and Hannah. Hannah looked a little sad while Ibrahim stared at the ground. Hannah worried Alecto slightly, she was unsure how someone so quiet would be able to survive this kind of challenge from Hope.

“Come on, big man. Get those piggies out!” Bobby encouraged Noah.

Hope took Noah’s foot in her hands and began to rub her thumbs up and down his sole.

Hannah appeared to get even smaller than usual, her expression showing how uncomfortable she was with this whole situation. Alecto looked at Lottie to see whether she had the same vibes as she did and noticed how Lottie’s green eyes appeared to glow brighter with angry sparks.

“How’s that feeling, mate?” Gary asked. He appeared to not have picked up on the tension surrounding the group, unless only Lottie, Ibrahim, Hannah and herself were the only ones to notice, Alecto thought.

“Actually…” Noah started responding but got cut off as Hope slid her fingers between his toes. He sighed in response like he was enjoying it. “Pretty good!” He finished the sentence.

_Okay, I’m not sure how Hannah will take this, or Lottie for that measure. Lottie is protective of those she cares about for sure._

“Well, this is already the weirdest holiday I’ve ever been on.” Gary said. Alecto looked up, eyeing Hope carefully. She appeared to be getting into it, but the fact she picked Noah of all people was definitely going to cause an issue with Lottie.

“I’m with Gary. This is all getting a bit much for me.” Alecto said. Feet along with Hope’s actions were definitely making her feel iffy.

“I’m just having fun, babe.” Hope sounded surprised, like she hadn’t done anything wrong, which Alecto supposed that in her eyes she hadn’t.

“Well done for getting us started, Hope. Who are you choosing to go next?” Marisol said.

Hope scanned around the circle of Islanders, stopping on Alecto.

_Uh oh. So much for staying in the background during this game, that’s been spoilt._

“Well, it seems like Alecto could do with getting in the spirit of things.” Hope replied, Alecto was unsure whether she was just imagining it, or whether the tone Hope had used on Hannah earlier was back.

“You’re up! Truth or Dare, Alecto?” Gary said.

“Be spontaneous! Choose dare!” Rocco chipped in.

“I don’t know. I think truth is the really brave option.” Ibrahim replied.

Lottie rolled her eyes, her arm resting on Alecto’s shoulder comfortably and giving her a little reassurance.

“Look at you boys deciding for her. You’re so thoughtful. You make your own choice, Alecto.” Lottie said, her words dripping in sarcasm to begin with, but evening out to a warmer tone. She felt herself relax a little, she felt like a coiled spring currently, she was absorbing the tension that was hanging over the group like a strange form of plant.

_People genuinely can’t have plant properties! You didn’t get an A in Biology A Level for nothing._

She took in a deep breath, and released it, making a snap decision to avoid overthinking it too much or more weird thoughts appearing. She didn’t want to scare people off within a day!

“I choose Dare!” She said, trying to put a little bit of confidence into her decision, despite her heart pounding with nerves. She curled and uncurled her hands in her lap to shift some nervous energy.

“Yes Alecto. Go big or go home.” Bobby said, trying to encourage her like he did for Noah and Hope.

“OK, the dare is… ‘Take a selfie, and text it to the hottest Islander!’” Hope said.

_Oh no. Not a selfie of all things, why did you choose dare? You’re hardly the most photogenic of people for goodness sake._

She blinked, forcing herself to snap out of her head, again. She couldn’t zone out now, maybe a little bit later would do.

“OK, that’s not as bad as the feet one…” Hannah seemed to have gained back some energy, she looked less like a wilted flower.

“I think it’s worse. I always look so bad in selfies!” Ibrahim replied.

_Um...hello? That’s so not helpful, it’s not like you’re photogenic either._

“It’s all about getting that perfect pose, right Alecto?” Hannah said.

She decided to have fun with it, going as wacky and weird as possible, it didn’t have to be perfect. She puffed air into her cheeks, and crossed her eyes, getting up close to the camera. She snapped a couple and chose the best one.

_Hmm. Who should you send it to? Logically there’s only 3 possible people: Gary, Marisol or Lottie, based on possible sparks and being coupled up with Gary. You’ve been quite close to Lottie, so maybe going a bit left field and doing Marisol instead would be good. It might be a surprise, but at least the girls know you’re not trying it on with their guys. It might even be a good way of getting to know some of the girls better…_

“Take your time, Alecto.” Bobby said, he sounded impatient.

“Don’t rush her. Who you send a flirty pic to is a very important decision.” Ibrahim replied.

_She definitely appreciated that._

Alecto sent the message and immediately Marisol’s phone beeps.

“Wow, thank you so much. If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were flirting with me.” Marisol definitely looked pleased, a blush coloured her cheeks.

Alecto looked up from her hands to hold Marisol’s gaze and it seemed like everything else vanished, and the only people in the world were herself and Marisol. The two of them consisted of the entire world. This was a familiar feeling, she had felt this before with Sophie, but not so intense so quickly.

“None of us were good enough, huh?” Bobby sounded disappointed, his mouth down turned.

“I think it’s great. Alecto isn’t bound by convention. And if she thinks Marisol is attractive, that’s something Gary might be interested in too…” Rocco replied, a smile on his face. Alecto was a bit wary of that smile, she wasn’t sure what that meant, whether there was something behind it. She’d definitely experienced dealing with people who judged her for being bisexual or automatically assumed she would be down for a threesome without even asking her first, the stereotypes were not true of all bisexuals, and she was fed up of people who judged her for her sexuality.

“I think Alecto is just not stepping on anyone else’s toes.” Lottie replied, giving Alecto a small smile.

“So it’s Alecto’s turn to choose. Who’s next?” Hannah asked.

“Why don’t you choose one of the boys, Alecto? But don’t choose Noah. I think me fondling his feet was probably enough excitement for one day.”

_Definitely not going there. Noah’s not even your type and you don’t want to involve yourself in the Hannah, Hope and Noah mess if you can help it. Becoming a drama magnet again is hardly attractive._

Lottie raised her eyebrows at Alecto. Her choice was made up, anyway as she didn’t want to step on anyone else’s toes, like Lottie said earlier.

“I choose Gary.” Alecto said.

“I’m up for a laugh. I’ll have a dare please, Carol.” Gary said. He looked excited, that was likely a Countdown reference. She tended to watch a lot of television when she was bored during the holidays.

“My name’s Hope.” Hope replied, clearly a little confused.

“I know, love. I just meant cos you’ve got the cards, like how it used to be on Countdown.” Gary said. Alecto looked up and caught his eye, trying to subtly tell him she got it.

_Called it! Watching a lot of daytime TV is useful for something!_

“Countdown?” Hope was still confused.

“I used to watch it with my nan… never mind. What’s my dare?” Gary asked. He clearly hadn’t picked up her subtle hint, that was irritating.

“It says… ‘Give a sexy dance to someone that isn’t your partner.’” Hope had a slight smirk on her face.

“Whenever I dance it just reminds me of when my uncle gets on the dance floor at weddings.” Gary starts windmilling his arms and stepping from one foot to the other. His moves are terrible.

“Oh my word!” Marisol said.

“Am I done yet?” Gary said.

“I think so.” Hope looked a little disappointed, she might have been hoping for drama of some sort.

He nods and sits back down.

_At least it wasn’t you. It would’ve been so embarrassing, you’re equally as bad, if not worse. Remember that time you actually knocked over an entire row of people and someone broke their arm? That was awful. He’s a good sport though._

“So, who are you choosing to go next?” Hope asked.

“Um...how about?” He casts his eye around the group, and stops on Marisol. “Marisol.” Gary said.

“OK, I choose truth.” Marisol said. _Interesting. She was likely more brave, baring your soul to complete strangers is certainly more difficult._

“Good choice. Your question is… ‘Have you ever kissed someone of the same gender on a night out?’” Hope asked.

“Yes, of course.” Marisol easily replied.

“For fun?” Hannah asked.

“My friend Persia is always snogging everyone on the dance floor, girls, lads…” Hope replied.

“No, I mean I actually like to meet girls on nights out.” Marisol said. She looked at Hope and Hannah quizzically.

“Oh, you’re bisexual! I get it.” A light seemed to come on in Hannah’s brain.

“Sorry, Marisol, I didn’t mean to imply you’re like my friend who just snogs everyone!” Hope apologised.

“Well, lots of people do like to experiment, especially on nights out when inhibitions are down. But I’m genuinely interested in women, just about as much as men. I actually get more nervous talking to girls, for some reason. If I meet a really beautiful girl, I get a bit tongue tied.” Marisol explained. Alecto definitely related there, apart from the fact she was more interested in women than men. She was still bisexual, but definitely preferred women.

“So the club is a place where you can talk...with your lips?” Rocco replied. _What on Earth is he on about? Sometimes he acts like he’s from a completely different planet!_

“We always talk with our lips, Rocco.” Lottie cut in, her tone a little snappy to cease his nonsense. Her arm slid back around Alecto’s shoulder, it had moved for a while. She leant against the other girl.

“Something like that!” Marisol said. She didn’t judge Rocco for his weird comment, unlike both Alecto and Lottie. She was sure that more people must be thinking it, but like Alecto, decided to not actually say it to be polite. Being rude is hardly the way to go here.

Bobby curls his lips in weird directions.

“Yeah,try talking without your lips. Can’t be done!” Bobby said, grinning.

“I’m good on the dance floor, so I end up feeling confident, like I could make the first move.” Marisol continued her speech from where she left off before Rocco’s weird comment.

“And then you end up tongue-tied, but not from talking…” Rocco replied. _What is it with this guy and comments that sound off? Seriously, he keeps doing it! You can’t be the only other person picking it up!_

“Yeah, by that time I can tell if she’s on my wavelength and interested.” Marisol said. She remained calm and collected during her little speech, and Alecto felt herself admiring her more.

“That’s boss, Marisol. It’s hard enough for me with only boys in my dating pool.” Lottie replied. _Okay, Lottie’s straight but flirty then. Good to know. The sparks have only been wrong once so far._

“I feel kinda reassured knowing Marisol gets nervous talking to girls the same way I do.” Bobby said.

“Well, men usually come to me, so it’s simpler. But I could totally see myself in a long-term relationship with another woman. Am I the only one?” Marisol explained.

“Yes, I’m bisexual too and I’ve dated girls before. My last long term relationship was with a girl also.” Alecto replied easily, her voice warm. She was excited and the nervousness she’d felt before fell away.

“So, I’m not the only one. That’s really cool. I think it’s good to be open to discovering new things about yourself. But it’s also important to just let yourself be who you are, you know?” Marisol said. Alecto caught her eye, and couldn’t hold eye contact for too long as she felt her cheeks flush. A slight problem with being in the beginning stage of a crush was definitely the blushing, she had a habit of becoming a slight mess.

“I totally agree. You’re really sound, Marisol.” Rocco said.

“Time for another quick decision. Who’s going next?” Ibrahim asked.

Marisol glances over at Alecto.

“I think Gary should go next.” She said.

“Didn’t he just go?” Hannah sounded a little grumpy, it seemed like Gary was popular.

“Yeah. Funny that Hope didn’t have anything to say about it this time.” Lottie pointed out.

“I’m up for it. I can go again. I choose dare.” Gary said.

Hope picks up a card.

“Oooh, it’s a good one. ‘Kiss the Islander you fancy the most.’” Hope said.

“I feel like I’ve only just met you all, but...I don’t even have to think about this one.” Gary walked over to Alecto and leaned in for a kiss. She pulled him towards her and ran her hands into his hair as they kissed. Everyone else cheered.

“Wow! You’re really full on.” Gary sounded shocked.

“Don’t you like it?” Alecto’s voice turned small, and she avoided his eye.

“I mean...of course I do. I’m just not used to making such a big scene I guess.” He replied.

“OK, moving on...who should go next?” Hope said.

“How about Hannah?” Gary said.

“OK,um…”

_Going full on wasn’t your best idea there, especially since it was, in part, to test the relationship and your overall feelings. The spark still is there, but it hasn’t grown, at all. Which is a sign. Marisol is more of your type, based on first impressions though. She’s even bi! Which means you weren’t imagining the moments you two keep sharing. She does remind you of Sophie, in a way._

Alecto felt herself zone out, this time she welcomed it. It was a job to remain concentrated, and she was unsure whether she had made the right decision by choosing to go full on with the kiss. She zoned back in time to hear Hannah finish speaking.

“And I was pulling hay out of my hair for the rest of the day.” She finished.  
  
“It’s like one of them books my nan buys in the charity shop with the painted covers.” Gary said.

“Well...I prefer to call it my Lady Chatterley’s Lover moment. But to each their own. Lottie, I think you should go next. Let’s make sure all the girls are embarrassed fairly, after all.” Hannah replied.

Alecto watched the game for a few more rounds. Lottie sucked on Noah’s earlobe. That was likely part of her taking revenge for earlier. When she sat back down, she whispered in Alecto’s ear: “Just seeing how angry it would make her…” Hope’s face was a picture of pure rage, it made Alecto feel very satisfied. The shoe isn’t as good on the other foot, after all.

Noah revealed his biggest fear.

“It’s not funny! Grasshoppers are like spiders that can jump at you when you’re not looking.” He said.

And Hope shared a little too much…

“I think it’s probably the back of my thighs. I don’t know why, but I always get goosebumps when someone strokes me there. Especially with a feather…”

Alecto felt herself zoning out again, not even able to think of anything other than letting her mind go blank. She was in desperate need for a bit of peace, her ear kept ringing on and off which was usually a sign that she needed a break.

She felt Lottie prod her in the arm hard and jumped.

“You zoned out again. Rocco chose you.” Lottie said.

Alecto rubs her arm and sends Lottie a little glare. _Ow. That was a bit violent._

“I think that might be it, I’m afraid. We’re all outta cards.” Hope said, looking disappointed.  
Despite not wanting to play earlier, she was actually getting into it.  
  
“Let’s carry on.” Alecto replied.

“Why not? I love this game! OK, Alecto...truth or dare?” Hope said.

“I choose dare.” Alecto easily said. She wasn’t ready to reveal her secrets to the group yet, she preferred to leave an air of mystery surrounding her.

“Wow, another one?” Hope clears her throat. “Alright. What about this? ‘One of the Islanders must spell their name on your stomach using only their tongue. You have to try and guess who it is.’”

“Wow. That’s pretty intimate. How are you guys going to decide who does it?” Alecto asked.

“Good point. How about you pick whether you want one of the guys, or one of us girls to do it?” Hope said.

_That’s an easy decision, one of the girls definitely. With some luck Marisol or Lottie will do it. It’ll be a good test of your guessing skills, you’re usually quite good._

“One of the girls please.” Alecto replied.

The girls looked at each other.

“I guess that’s better for us than having one of our blokes do it.” Lottie said.

“OK Alecto, close your eyes.” Hope said.

She shut her eyes, lay flat on her back and everything turned black. Her other senses grew in strength and she heard whispering and giggling then out of nowhere, something soft and wet touched her stomach. She gasped. _It’s cold!_

The tongue stroked gently up and down for a few seconds, then stopped. It’s impossible to make out any letters. She opened her eyes, and sat up.

“OK, who do you think that was?” Hope asked.

_Go with your instincts!_

“I think it was Marisol.” Alecto said confidently.

“You’re right!” Hope said.

“No one else wanted to do it!” Marisol replied.

_Nice. You might be a little hurt, but trust me, it’s an odd dare._

“Which isn’t to say we don’t like you, Alecto...I just think that maybe tonguing your belly button isn’t my thing.” Hope said.

_Ah, fair enough. You do take offence far too quickly, you must admit._

“Well, I guess that really is the end, this time.” Hope said.

“Oh good. I don’t think I could have watched another foot massage anyway.” Hannah said, looking pale. _Why did you bring up feet, again?_

“What is it with you and feet?” Gary said, bringing her question to life inadvertently.

“I just don’t like it when people try and make them sexy…” Hannah said, a shudder of disgust shaking her body.

“What, like this?” Bobby started wiggling his toes at her, and she screamed and ran away.

“Wow. That’s a phobia I’d like to know more about.” Marisol said, following after her.  
As everyone walks away, Bobby hangs back.

“Alecto, do you fancy a quick chat in a minute?” He asked.

She settled herself on the daybeds and looked around the Villa. It was still a beautiful day, the afternoon sunshine was glinting on the pool. She could see Marisol and Hannah chatting on the lawn, and some of the boys had already started working out in the gym. Bobby flops down beside her.

“Hey. Fancy a chat? I’m sure Gary won’t mind.” He said.

“I’m not doing anything else.” She replied. To be perfectly honest, she wanted to be left alone to recharge, she was already exhausted.

“Wow, frosty.” He looks around, like he can’t think of what to say. “I’ll just come straight out with it. I thought there might be a little bit of chemistry building up between us, and I just wanted to know...am I the type of guy you usually go for?” He asked.

“You’re not who I usually fancy.” She replied, staying polite and to the point.

“Oh, really? Maybe I’m barking up the wrong tree here.” He looked a little disappointed, but he was definitely not her type. High energy people exhausted her quickly and first impressions gave her that. In addition, he was coupled with Marisol and she didn’t want to step on her toes.

“I’m not really interested, sorry.” She put the sorry on the end to soften it up a bit, as she was aware how she was coming across.

Bobby frowned.  
“No worries. No harm done. I’ll go chat to someone else.” He said.

They were interrupted by the sound of a phone somewhere in the Villa.  
“Text! Guys, I got a text!” Marisol called out.  
“I guess that means we’ve got to go, anyway.” Bobby said.

All the Islanders gather around as Marisol starts reading.  
“Islanders, tonight there will be a welcome party. Please get ready to say hi to a very special guest!”

“Amazing! A party!” Hope said.

“Does that mean another girl is coming in here?” Lottie said, sounding worried.

All the girls look at each other, suddenly worried.

Alecto catches Noah looking over at Hope.

“Or it could be another guy…” he said.


	3. Chapter 3

In the dressing room, the girls were getting ready for the first night’s party. The whole room was filled with glitter spray and the smell of sun cream. Alecto pushed her glasses up her nose and studied herself in the mirror, trying to gain back some calmness, despite feeling very overwhelmed.

“I think it will be really nice to have another girl in the Villa. More girls, more power, right?” Hope said. She sounded genuine, which appeared strange to Alecto given the way Hope had treated her and Hannah earlier. It might be her just overinflating things again, but she didn’t trust Hope at all. Also her and Ibrahim seemed like a very bad match.

Lottie rolled her eyes.

“Oh please. If the situation was different, sure. But in here? You know if a girl comes in now she’ll be the hottest person any of us have ever seen and she’ll be out to get what she wants. And what if she wants Ibrahim?” Lottie replied.

Hope’s face falls.

“Hearing you say that makes me nervous. I just want everyone to meet their perfect match. But what if her perfect match is the same as mine.” Hannah said. She looked nervous, twisting her hands together. She already had to deal with Hope trying to get Noah, never mind another girl possibly wanting him, so Alecto understood her nervousness. But at the same time, attacking someone just because they arrived late really didn’t sit right with her.

“We’ll have to get used to it, it’s all part of the game. Let’s just make sure we’re the best at playing it.” She replied, sounding less nervous than she actually was; she was able to put up a front when needed.

“I agree.” Marisol said. She had been fairly quiet during this whole exchange, Alecto had almost forgotten she was there. She could smell a subtle pineapple fragrance to the left of her, which appeared to belong to her.

“It could be a guy, you know. Maybe your perfect man is going to walk through the door, Hannah. He’ll have glasses, and a cardigan, and a moustache, and… what else do you like?” Hope said, she seemed to be trying to turn Hannah away from Noah. Alecto looked in Lottie’s direction to see if she picked it up, and the other girl gave her hand a little squeeze to subtly signal that she had also picked it up. Alecto moved closer to Lottie and stopped next to her.

“Hannah seems a little happier now. So I don’t think it’ll be a good idea to intervene here.” Lottie whispered in her ear. Alecto tried to act natural, so Hope wouldn’t pick anything up, she seemed absorbed in her conversation with Hannah, though. Alecto nodded, squeezing Lottie’s hand back in response. She felt herself zone out again, only coming back when she heard Marisol’s voice.

“I’m imagining him riding in shirtless. If that happens, you won’t be the only one falling at his feet.” Marisol said. It was difficult to get a good read of Marisol in particular, Alecto could read the others without having to try too hard, but Marisol was an enigma. The slight air of mystery definitely intrigued Alecto.

“You like a guy who rides horses?” Hope asked, sounding a little confused.

“I like a guy that’s shirtless.” Marisol clarified.

Alecto picked up a dark purple cuff bracelet, sliding it onto her left wrist. She had always worn a bracelet to cover her soulmate words, ever since Étienne spoke them aloud and started that mess of a relationship. She had forgotten entirely to wear it earlier and nothing untoward had happened, but she wasn’t ready to trust people fully yet, especially not strangers, to not look and read her soulmate words.

“My ex back in Australia was always shirtless. He was ripped, so I didn’t complain too much, but it was a little weird. One time he came to pick me up for a date and he didn’t have his shirt on.” Lottie said.

“What did you say when you first saw him?” Alecto felt she had been quiet for too long, so asked the first question that came into her mind.

“Nothing. I just looked at his abs and took him inside. We never made our reservation.” Lottie replied.

“If he was so hot, why did you break up?” Hannah asked.

“Oh gosh, he was as thick as a brick. I didn’t see it at first because I was blinded by the fanny flutters…” Lottie trailed off. _Hang on. I think I know what she means, but it’s not slang I’ve ever come across previously._

“The what?” Hannah looked very confused.

“Um… it’s an Aussie thing, I guess? Anyway, one time we talked about going on holiday and he asked me ‘What country is France in?’ That’s when I knew things were going south.” Lottie explained.

_Even you know where France is, and you nearly failed Geography in Year 9, and somehow got to 24 without knowing the difference between left and right, and somehow are good at directions. So that might make you feel a little better, about your own geographical failings. At the same time, everyone has one subject they’re bad at, yours happens to be Geography._

“I would have done the same. That’s a special level of stupid.” Alecto said. She chose not to talk about her own failings, even though that could be a good conversation thing.

“I think that was when I knew we had to break up. I couldn’t imagine going on a holiday with him complaining every time he couldn’t get Vegemite. We had to break up twice in the end.” Lottie said.

“What do you mean?” Hannah replied.

“He was watching the footie when I said, ‘I think we should take time apart’...” Lottie explained.

“I’ve heard that one before.” Hannah replied.

“And then two days later he showed up at my house like nothing had happened. Turns out he wasn’t even paying attention to me the first time I broke up with him!” Lottie said.

“What did you do?” Hannah asked.

“I had to break up with him again. Louder. Although I almost thought about taking him back, he was that fit.” Lottie explained.

“Sounds like it ended for a good reason, to be honest. I could never take someone back. Could you, Alecto?” Marisol said. That was definitely something Alecto agreed with her about. Usually if it ended, it ended for a reason.

“I could never take someone back.” She replied easily. She was relieved that Étienne was gone, that took too long to end and was a disaster from start to finish. For Sophie, she would consider it, but it wouldn’t be likely, given how she was planning to spend the rest of her life in LA. All other dates she had been on had gone dreadfully, so there were no lost feelings she’d missed out on there.

“Look at you with that attitude! I don’t want to get on the wrong side of you.” Lottie sounded impressed, smirking at Alecto.

“I’m worried about what it will be like in here. I can’t imagine how hard breaking up will be.” Hannah pointed out. _That’s one major downside to this place. It’s good that it’s strangers though, you can easily imagine worse people to be here with._

“You’ll still have to see them every day. That’s a lot of difficult emotions to process.” Marisol replied.

“And you have to watch them get off with someone else. That would be the hardest thing for me.” Lottie said.

“We broke up for a reason. I don’t own a guy just because we kissed once. If one of you would be happier with him than I would, you should go ahead.” Alecto replied. She wasn’t the type to be possessive over the people she had been in a relationship with. Most of the time, it stopped working for an obvious reason, or was entirely fake to begin with. _You’re definitely not fully over Étienne, despite how you pretend to be over him. Not as in romantic feelings or anything, but how he strung both you and Andromeda along and pretty much ruined two friendships. At the same time, cutting them off was definitely good for you._

“That’s so wise.” Hannah sounded impressed.

“I can just feel that it’s going to happen to me. I trust my instincts and I know one of you will end up kissing a guy I like. Not Alecto though. We’re sweet as.” Lottie said, a smile reaching her lips by the end of her statement, it reaching her eyes and turning them bright green in the sunlight.

“Do you think that would happen with Rocco?” Hannah asked.

“Depends how you all feel about him, I guess. I still don’t know how we’re all feeling.” Lottie replied. Alecto knew that she was definitely not interested in Rocco in the slightest, he was giving her vibes which made her a little apprehensive, like something was going to happen with him. Bobby wasn’t her type one bit, he was far too loud and energetic for her personal tastes, being with someone that extroverted would tire her out quickly. She was staying far from the situation with Hope and Hannah, so Noah is very much out. Ibrahim wasn’t her type either, which left her with Gary, who she wasn’t entirely set on, but was the best option for her currently. So Lottie had nothing to worry about from her, she knew that much.

“I honestly don’t know myself.” Marisol said, looking apprehensive.

“Don’t worry about it,hun. It’s only the first day, after all. No-one’s attached yet.” Hope said.

“What about you, Alecto? Where’s your head at?” Hannah asked.

“I’m really into Gary.” She replied, mainly to set people at ease. She wasn’t entirely set on him, if new people came in, but he was the closest to her type.

“Interesting...I’ve been trying to keep an eye on all the boys and see if I can feel out what they’re like. I think Gary’s type is someone who’s pretty chill and laid back. You might be a bit much for him. Also, I’m pretty sure he wants someone who puts the group first. Does that sound like you?” Marisol said.

“I think so.” Alecto replied, keeping her response brief. She wasn’t sure what to say to that. _A bit much? You’ve never been described as that in your life! If anything you get described as too much of a wallflower. That’s definitely an odd statement._

“Maybe it will work out for you guys, then. To be fair, we’ve only just met each other. All this could change.” Marisol replied. Alecto was unsure whether the other girl had picked up that her statement had struck a definite nerve, she was definitely difficult to read.

“It’s good to know, though. I’m still not sure what I want. Rocco seems like a cool guy, but I’m not set on him. We’ve both given each other that look, if you know what I mean...but I have a feeling we’re going to clash if we spend too much time together. And I noticed he might be looking elsewhere.” Lottie said.

Alecto bit her lip, she felt herself zoning out and welcomed it, focusing on getting ready over staying too much in her head. She kept up with the little mask she’d put on earlier, she had a feeling it would be useful later. She felt eyes on her, and turned, trying to catch up with the conversation. She felt like she’d always be a couple of steps behind, rushing to keep up with the conversation while the rest of them went on ahead. _It’s not like you haven’t dealt with that prior to this, so that wouldn’t be too bothersome._

She bit her lip, trying to think back to the last thing she heard to see if that would help. It was always difficult for her to keep track of conversations, they never seemed to stay in her head, especially if she didn’t hear them to begin with. It would help to try and keep herself calm, but being around this many people was making things worse, and if she disappeared, that would instantly ruin the mask she was keeping up. Confidence wasn’t something that came naturally to her, meaning she would have to fake it to a high extent.

“Sorry. I lost track, can you please repeat?” Her voice grew softer as the sentence went on, ending just before the volume of her voice turned low enough to become a whisper. Her voice shook a tiny bit, but she was able to recover quickly enough. She focused on spinning the bracelet on her wrist to calm her, not looking up in case someone was perceptive enough to pick up that her mask was slightly breaking. She suspected Lottie would be able to pick it up, but she didn’t want pity.

“If it is another girl that comes in, we all have to fight for our place here.” Hannah replied.

_Oh great. You completely forgot the reason why this party is being held, didn’t you._

Alecto blinked, snapping herself out of her head again. She went for the first response that came into her head, she didn’t have the brain space to think too hard along with rebuilding her mask again.

“We’re a team now.” She said, looking up and giving Lottie a small smile. Focusing on just Lottie and pretending it was just the two of them in the room helped her gain back some stability, along with reassuring Hannah in the process.

“Good on you, Alecto. None of us want to get screwed over by some rando that walks through the door.” Lottie said, returning her smile and reaching out to squeeze her hand lightly.

“I’m with you on that.” Hannah agreed.

“I think we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Let’s not make a clique. We should be focusing on looking our best instead. Let’s go out there looking amazing, and then all the boys will want us.” Hope said. She might not like Hope all that much, but Alecto admitted she had a point. _After all, didn’t you say you most wanted to avoid a clique? Do try not to be a hypocrite in your desperation for others to like you._

She moved in the direction of her suitcase, retrieving the first dress she spotted, and disappearing behind a screen. Given that it was only the first night, her black wrap dress would do perfectly, it made sense to save some of her other stuff for later on. She reappeared, redoing her hair as the heat was causing her braid to loosen.

“You look so cute, Alecto.” Hannah said, giving her a smile.

“I think it’s great you haven’t gone over the top. We don’t need to feel threatened by someone new coming into the Villa.” Hope replied. _Wait, was Hope being nice? Okay, she’s definitely capable of it then._

All the girls walk out onto the lawn together, where the boys are waiting.

“Oi oi! Here they are.” Gary said.

“Some of these guys were getting impatient.” Ibrahim said.

“Yeah, especially Mr La La Land over here.” Bobby said.

“What?” Rocco asked. _Okay, he hasn’t heard of La La Land. How? The media hype about it was ridiculous, to the point that when you actually went to see it, it didn't live up to the hype._

“You know. That guy Sebastian who sings and plays the piano in that movie. You remind me of him.” Bobby explained.

“The singing crab who lives under the sea?” Rocco asked. _Nope, wrong Sebastian. That’s from the Little Mermaid._

“No, that’s a different...Never mind. The point is...Rocco wants us to think he’s laid back, but it turns out he doesn’t like getting stood up.” Bobby said.

“That’s me. I’m happiest when I’m lying down.” Rocco said, then winked at all the girls.

“I’m glad you waited until we were all here together. It’s our first night in the Villa and I want to make sure we’re all bonding as a group.” Alecto said.

“That’s what I thought too. Let’s all have a great night together.” Gary agreed.

“Why are you guys still chatting? You know there’s champagne over here, right?” Hope asked, then headed over to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle from the ice bucket.

“So, how are you girls finding the Villa?” Ibrahim asked.

“I haven’t looked around fully yet.” Alecto replied.

“Me neither. I was gonna check the place out while you girls were getting ready, but instead I fell asleep in the sun.” Gary agreed.

“Did you have a chance to look at the roof terrace yet? That’s gonna be such a beautiful spot to sit out and look at the stars. I hope I’ll get a chance to do that one evening with someone.” Rocco said, looking directly at her. Alecto looked away, she wasn’t interested in the slightest.

Lottie clears her throat.

“I meant with Lottie, of course.” He corrected himself.

Rocco waited for Alecto to say something, then sighs.

“Anyone can benefit from learning astronomy.” He pointed out.

“You really don’t need to tell me that, my sister Quinn has a degree in astrophysics and has told me a lot of astronomical information.” She replied, hoping that would cause him to drop it.

“Of course, you know more than her sister.” Lottie cut in, rolling her eyes at Rocco, her words were dripping in sarcasm.

“It’s silly, really. A shipyard at night is just as nice as the stars. But no-one ever wants to go look at a shipyard with me.” Gary said.

“A shipyard?” Hannah asked.

“Yeah. There’s this park near where I grew up and you can sit out on the hill at night and look at the docks. You can’t see any stars, obviously, because of the smoke. But the lights on all the cranes are amazing at night. They’re all different colours and you can tell loads about what’s going on.” Gary explained.

“I’d be into that.” Alecto said, giving him a smile. Hearing about what made other people happy and what they were interested in was definitely a good thing in her book, she enjoyed learning about others.

“Nice to know someone is.” Gary said, returning the smile.

Hope rolls her eyes like she’s bored.

“Um...sorry to interrupt, because this is riveting...but I think I’m starting to see why some of you are single. I was expecting better chat than ‘come look at a shipyard with me, baby’.” Hope said. Alecto raised one eyebrow at her rudeness, it was completely involuntary and even she had no idea when it would happen. Hope actually flinched, looks like the unexpected eyebrow had scared another person off. No one else seemed to be paying any attention, and Alecto relaxed, her eyebrow going back into line with the other and becoming more natural again.

“Right? What happened to the old classics?” Lottie looks at Hannah. “Heeey guuurl, do you know how to give the kiss of life?”

“Um…” Hannah stared back at her.

“Cos you just took my breath away!” Lottie replied.

“Wow.” Hannah said.

“You try one.” Lottie said.

“OK, um...this one was always my favourite...heeey guuurl, are you an overdue library book?” She asked.

“I don’t know, am I?” Lottie replied.

“Cos you’ve got ‘fine’ written all over you!” Hannah said.

Lottie bursts out laughing.

“That’s so good.” She replied.

Noah catches Hannah’s eye.

“Hey, Hannah. Feel my shirt.” Noah said.

She gently touches the hem of his shirt.

“Feel that? That’s boyfriend material.” Noah replied.

Hannah blushed and grinned at him, speechless for a bit. _They’re so cute together._

“I love them!” Alecto said, an easy grin on her face.

“Me too. I wanna pretend I like them ironically, but…” Lottie said.

Ibrahim clears his throat.

“OK, check this out...hey girl, are you a dam? Because you got me saying ‘beaver’! Uh. Wait...I mean…” Ibrahim floundered. Alecto winced in sympathy.

There’s an awkward silence, which lasts for a while until Rocco clears his throat. No-one knows what to say. Ibrahim looks disappointed, and Alecto is far from surprised that Hope didn’t step in there, as she’s more or less occupied with staring daggers at both Noah and Hannah. _Poor Ibrahim! He does deserve better than her, but you don’t want to lead him on._

“Why don’t you try one, Alecto?” Hope said. _Oh great. At least you’ll hopefully do better than Ibrahim, poor guy!_

“Umm..OK.” She said.

“Let’s hear it.” Hope said encouragingly. She appeared to have completely changed her tone.

“OK...hey Marisol...are you French? Because Eiffel for you!” Alecto said, hoping she would go along with it.

Marisol looked at her blankly. _Uh oh. The worst thing about a bad joke is one that is so bad you have to explain it._

“Umm...Eiffel, like ‘I fell’. Don’t worry about it.” She promptly blushed, having enough confidence to look up to see Marisol blushing back at her. _Okay, partial success! That’s not too bad._

“Usually I hate it when a guy tries it on like that...but that was pretty funny. And sexier than I thought it would be. You’re a girl after my own heart, Alecto.” The wide grin combined with the blush helped confirm for Alecto that Marisol meant it, and she returned the grin. She initially thought this would go horribly wrong, but hey, it went unexpectedly well! Go her!

“I might have to work on my game…” Ibrahim said, he still looked down from the failed attempt earlier.

“Trust me, there are worse things than not being a smooth talker.” Alecto said, trying to reassure him a little bit.

“People who talk to your chest instead of your face…” Marisol responded. _Ah yes, a common occurrence when pretty much everyone is taller than you. And being used like a living armrest! Being exactly 5’0 sucks sometimes. In addition, people deliberately staring at your chest while talking is also unsettling._

“I’d take a couple of cheesy lines from a sweet guy over someone who talked down to me.” Hannah replied. _That was also irking. Especially when you know more about the subject in question yourself. Having a lot of family members can be beneficial, you have a lot of random knowledge that the average person doesn’t have._

“Or someone who can’t take no for an answer.” Hope replied. She paused and looked at the group.

“I was about to talk about a time a guy was physically inappropriate with me. Is that going to make you feel uncomfortable? No judgement.”

Everyone turns to look at Hope. She shakes her head and takes a breath.

“At the end of one date, a guy tried to take a goodnight kiss a bit further. It was so awkward.” She explained.

“Awkward is an understatement…” Marisol said.

“That sounds awful.” Alecto said.

“I know so many girls that have been through something similar.” Lottie replied.

“There are so many things the guy did wrong…” Rocco said.

“She may not have yelled at him or got aggressive but she wasn’t enthusiastic, was she?” Alecto said.

“Exactly.” Marisol replied, keeping her words short and to the point.

“It’s really intimidating when a guy does that.” Alecto replied.

“Or when a girl does it. I’ve seen girls come on really strong too. If people just asked instead of being pushy, they’d know if someone was interested without crossing a line.” Marisol pointed out.

“Why is it when someone says ‘no’ it needs to be spelt out, but if it’s a yes, it’s understood straight away?” Alecto replied.

The Islanders nod in agreement.

“Exactly.” Marisol replied.

“They don’t even have to explicitly say no. If someone is trying to get away from me or making excuses, that counts as a no.” Bobby said.

“So pretty much everyone you come into contact with then?” Gary replied.

“It’s simple-unless the other person is as keen as you are, it’s not happening.” Noah said.

“When a girl goes out with me she can expect quality banter and an absolute gent.” Gary replied.

“And a hundred bad dad jokes…” Alecto replied. _Oi, not that your sense of humour is any better! Don’t go judging people when you have equally as dreadful jokes yourself!_

“Dad jokes? This is quality humour. Right. A bishop walks into a nunnery…”

Gary started a joke.

“I got a text!” Hannah called out. _Yay, great timing!_

“Islanders, please go to the fire pit and get ready to meet your new arrival.” Hannah read out.

“Are you ready, Islanders?” Hope called out.

“Let’s do this!” Bobby looked excited.

Gary pulls Alecto aside on the way over to the fire pit.

“What’s up?” Alecto asked.

“Today’s been such a good laugh, but I thought we should have a quick chat before someone else arrives and it all kicks off. It felt like there was a bit of tension during that Truth or Dare game earlier today. Was it OK that I kissed you when I did that dare?” Gary said.

“I chose you this morning, and you kissed me this afternoon. What’s not to like?” She easily replied, smiling at him.

“I hadn’t played a game like that since I was at secondary school. It’s so easy to forget how things used to be before work came along. All of us gossiping and playing sexy games and that. It’s like being a teenager again.” Gary said. He pauses for a second.

“Can I ask you, now we’re in private...where’s your head at? What are you thinking about you and me?” He asked.

“I want to give us a shot.” She replied.

“I’m glad you said that, I think we’ve got a good connection so far. We’re clicking, you’re saying all the right stuff, you seem like my type on paper...but it has only been a day. I’m not making a decision now or anything like that. I want to get to know everyone in here.” Gary said, smiling at her. _Okay. So that little observation of Marisol’s clearly didn’t mean anything, as long as both you and Gary have confidence in what you have, there’s no real problem here. It has only been a day, and if she struggles to gain a full read on you like you for her, there might be a classic occurrence of miscommunication there. There’s no point really in mentioning it to Gary though._

She realised the silence between them had remained too long, she had got lost in her thoughts once again. She thought back to what he last said and made a quick response.

“You...you do?” She felt herself trip over her words, and winced. There was a reason she made a point of being more careful and slower with her speech after all. With any luck, he hadn’t picked that up.

“Yeah, course. I came in here to find someone to settle down with. I’ve got to make sure that’s the right person for me.”

The conversation is interrupted by Lottie calling over to them.

“Whenever you two lovebirds are ready…” She said, a teasing tone to her voice.

Alecto blushed and promptly went in the direction of the firepit. _Lovebirds? That definitely does sound nice, don’t you think?_

She is snapped out of her thoughts by the clicking of stilettos on stone as she reaches the firepit.

“Hi everyone! I’m so excited to meet you all!” Priya calls out.

Gary whistles under his breath.

“Mate, I know.” Noah said.

“I guess we’re the welcoming committee!” Bobby said excitedly.

“Come on, boys.” Gary said.

The boys gather around Priya and introduce themselves.

“It is a new girl! And she’s beautiful. Ugh.” Hannah’s face showed her opinion of the new islander, it was clear that she wouldn’t be welcoming her anytime soon. _Yup, she’s worried about Noah being stolen and possibly having more competition. But that still doesn’t mean she should be rude._

“Do you think so?” Hope asked.

Alecto’s eyes traveled to the new girl.

“I wouldn’t kick her out of bed…” Alecto replied, a flirty tone slipping into her words.

“Wow, what?” Marisol said, raising one eyebrow at Alecto’s comment. _Okay, she keeps being surprised by a lot of things you say. That’s probably not anything to be worried about, maybe you’re turning out different to her expectations._

“You never heard someone say that before?” Alecto felt her voice go softer and more uncertain. She hated how quickly she would slip if people expressed any doubt or negativity around her, it was definitely frustrating.

“Nope. But you’re right. I wouldn’t either!” Marisol replied, shooting her a wide grin.

“Look at those boys, all swarming around her. You’d think they hadn’t just met five gorgeous women today already.” Lottie’s voice sounded bitter. _Really! I thought girl code applied to all girls, not just the ones you want it to. There’s no real point to getting involved with this._

“You sound jealous. Are you worried about Rocco?” Marisol asked.

“Nah, I’m not worried. If he can’t see what I’ve got, that’s his loss. What about you guys?” Lottie asked.

Alecto glances over at Gary. He’s laughing along with Priya at something.

“I know it’s pretty early, but I already like him.” Alecto said,keeping the soft tone from earlier, she was definitely rather uncertain about the new arrival.

“I don’t really mind Noah going to chat to her. But I don’t like the idea that one of us girls is in danger of going home already. If Noah does fancy Priya more, I’ll have to find someone else to couple up with.” Hannah said, she looked very nervous.

“If we don’t like it, we should do something about it. I’m gonna go over there to meet her. I bet she’ll be really nice if we get to know her, and we can check up on the boys too. You want to come with?” Hope asked. _That definitely sounded like a sensible idea, Hope appears to be mellowing a bit._

“I’d rather stick with my girls.” Lottie said, her opinions on the new arrival were obvious by her face.

“I’ll go. I’d like to see what kind of person she is.” Marisol said. _Also a sound reason. You liking Marisol isn’t the only reason motivating you here, but it appears you agree more with both her and Hope. Agreeing with Hope is a bit of a surprise though._

“I’m gonna stay and talk to Lottie. What about you, Alecto?” Hannah asked.

“I’ll come with you guys. I’d like to see what Priya is all about.” Alecto replied, putting a bit of confidence into her voice.

“Your choice. It’s not what I would have chosen though. I know where my loyalties lie.” Lottie gave Alecto a disappointed look, her lips turned down as she turned away and focused on Hannah, pointedly ignoring Alecto. _Come on! You did say you didn’t want a clique, so if she wants one with Hannah, then leave her to it, for goodness sake._

Alecto walks over to the boys with Marisol and Hope either side of her, leaving Lottie and Hannah whispering to each other.

“Here they are!” Gary called out.

“Were you lads trying to keep Priya all to yourself?” Hope said.

Hope immediately goes in to hug Priya.

“How are you doing, babes? I’m Hope. It’s so good to meet you.” Her voice was warm.

“It’s good to meet you too. I’m so glad you girls aren’t judging me for gatecrashing your party.” Priya said, she looked nervous, which was understandable considering her late arrival.

Priya turns to Alecto. She is gorgeous, 5’9 at minimum, it looked like Alecto was the shortest of all of them, not that she minded all that much. Not many people were shorter than her after all. Priya had long dark auburn hair pushed partially to the side and a gorgeous silver low cut dress. Like Alecto, she wears a cuff bracelet around her wrist, but hers is silver to match her dress. _Wow. She looks amazing! She has the same idea as you, about hiding her soulmate words. She might do that for a reason too, like you._

She was a little gobsmacked and realised Priya was waiting for her to speak, and blushed. _This zoning out thing was happening a little too often for her liking!_

“Hi, I’m Alecto. You’re stunning, by the way. We were just saying.” She gave Priya a smile to accompany her compliment, delighted when Priya returned the smile.

“You’re so sweet! I was really worried I’d be fading into the background to be honest. All you girls are so beautiful,and I know I’m slightly older than some of you.” Priya said.

“I wouldn’t have noticed that…” Ibrahim said. Hope cleared her throat pointedly.

“Moving swiftly on...I’m really looking forward to getting to know you better.” Marisol replied.

“Yeah, we all are.” Gary said.

“I try to be a pretty open person. What do you want to know?” Priya asked.

“What’s your usual type?” Alecto asked.

“I usually go for cheeky and flirty guys. Usually I’m the one that struggles to commit. I love guys who are fun to be around, but I tend to get a bit scared when it gets more serious.” Priya replied.

“Everyone here seems fun to be around, in their own way.” Hope said.

“Yeah, we’re just a bunch of mushrooms.” Ibrahim said, sounding confident. _Wow! He should stop with the comedy already, that one was even worse than earlier. Your jokes are bad, but at least they make sense._

“What?” Bobby asked.

“You know, we’re…fun...guys?” Ibrahim grew unsure as the joke went on. Alecto expected Hope to step in, but like last time, she just left him to flounder. _Those two are an exceptionally bad match, that’s for sure._

“Maybe jokes aren’t your thing, lad.” Bobby said, trying to reassure him.

“Anyway, everyone seems really sound so far.” Gary said, changing the subject.

“Even those two. They’ll come around soon, I’m sure.” Hope points to Lottie and Hannah, who are still chatting by the firepit.

“What’s going on there? Why didn’t they come over and say hi?” Priya asked, looking a little disappointed. _Okay, you don’t want to hurt her feelings, so tread carefully without lying._

“It’s not about you, Lottie and Hannah just had something else they needed to talk about.” Alecto said, having to think on the spot wasn’t her strong suit so she ended up having to lie and hoping Hope and Marisol wouldn’t call her out on it.

“What was that, then?” Gary asked. _Shoot. You didn’t account for someone calling you out on it._

“Umm…” she floundered, trying to think of something quick.

“It’s OK. I get it. Not all the girls are happy I’m here.” Priya said, reaching over to Alecto and giving her hand a gentle squeeze. Priya appeared to have picked up what she was trying to do, which was a relief.

“Whatever. Let’s get them over here. OI! LOTTIE! HANNAH! You coming over or what?” Bobby called over.

Lottie and Hannah joined the group.

“Sorry we didn’t come over straight away. We had something important to discuss.” Lottie said. _Okay, not a total lie then. Result!_ Lottie air-kisses Priya on both cheeks.

“What did you say your name was, babe?” Lottie asked.

“I’m Priya.” Priya said.

“It’s nice to meet you. It must be really hard for you to come in when we’re all coupled up already.” Lottie appeared to be putting on this tone of fake pity, coupled with a sad face. _To think, you have spent so much time worried about Hope, when Lottie isn’t exactly innocent herself. Priya’s only crime is coming in later, that’s it! Don’t get involved, hopefully it will blow over._

Alecto watches as Priya turns to face Lottie and air-kisses her back.

“Oh my gosh I love your Aussie accent. It’s so...rural.” Priya said, a smile reaching her face. _Maybe Priya can hold her own._

“Guys, it’s a bit early to be getting into it like this. It’s our first day in the Villa!” Noah said.

“Noah is right. There’s going to be plenty of time for falling out later.” Hope agreed, trying to smooth things over.

“Sorry if I’m not loving the idea that we’re already in danger.” Lottie’s bitter tone was sharp, and it was coupled with a fierce glare.

“Speaking of which...I guess it’s time to ask the big question.” Marisol replied. She turns to Priya.

“Have any of these boys caught your eye already?” She asked.

“I would say Ibrahim is my type straight away.” Priya replied. Hope seemed to not react to that statement, which surprised Alecto.

“But Gary has got gorgeous eyes, too. But I’m trying not to tread on anyone’s toes.” Priya replied. _That’s fine, you don’t want to be possessive either. Perfect opportunity to show you’re okay with it._

“I don’t mind. We’ve literally only known each other for a few hours anyway.” Alecto replied, giving her a smile, hoping she came across well.

“I think it’s only fair you get a chance to chat to all the boys. And we should get you a drink! Honestly, boys! It’s a party and no-one has got Priya a glass of bubbly yet.” Hope said, giving Priya a warm smile. Alecto was impressed with how Hope was handling this, maybe she had more in common with her than she first thought. _First impressions can be wrong, after all._

“I guess I’d better do that grafting thing, then.” Priya said.

“Honey, I don’t think anyone with a figure like that needs to graft. Go sit on the bed over there and watch the boys form a line.” Marisol said.

“Rocco, I think we need to have a word.” Lottie said.

“Yep, I think it’s about that time for all of us.” Bobby said.

Alecto watched as all the couples drifted off to talk to each other, she could already hear raised voices coming from where Lottie and Rocco were sitting.

After a while, the party winds down and the Islanders begin to get ready for bed, and everyone gets into their pyjamas.

Some of the Islanders are still hanging around outside. Alecto’s sitting on the daybed looking at the view, and Gary sits down beside her.

“Hey, gorgeous.” She greeted him.

“And hello to you, too. It looks like everyone’s getting ready for bed. And, as it’s our first night as a couple...I was thinking about what you said earlier about wanting to get to know each other better...and I thought, there’s one way I know that’s great for that...how do you feel about sharing a bed tonight?” Gary asked.

“I’d love to share a bed.” She replied.

“I’m so glad you said that!” He breathes deeply. “I was so much more nervous than I was expecting!” Gary smiled and edged closer to her. A cool breeze drifts over the lawn, and you both shiver slightly.

“You look amazing tonight. I just want to say that. I’m really glad we’re coupled up.”

From across the lawn, Alecto hears the faint sound of a phone beeping.

“Guys, come over here! I got a text!” Priya called out.

Everyone makes their way over.

“Priya, tomorrow you will get to choose one of the boys to couple up with, leaving one of the girls single and vulnerable.” Priya reads out the text.

“I knew it!” Lottie said, the tension not vanished from earlier clearly.

“Interesting…” Marisol trailed off.

“Looks like it’s competition time, ladies.” Hope replied.


	4. Chapter 4

It’s the first morning in the Villa, and Alecto is in the bedroom. It looks like a hurricane has hit it, with pillows and duvets everywhere. 

“Who makes these beds, anyway?” She asked, scanning the room for another living person. _It’s definitely odd for you to sleep in, you’re usually up early. You are in holiday mode though, which does explain that a bit._

Gary had already got up, shown by the space at her side.

There’s movement from one of the beds, two people are still under their duvet and she hears familiar voices whispering and giggling.

“My hair does not look like that!”

“No...you’re like…”

“What am I like?”

_Just leave them alone. They probably won’t appreciate the interruption._

She tiptoed quietly to the dressing room, making sure to watch her step to avoid extra noise. Once she got to the dressing room, she got ready, leaving her long dark hair loose in it’s natural waves, making sure to brush her fringe into place too. Depending on how much effort she wanted to put in, she either clipped it back or left it natural. She chose a green bracelet to match her bikini to cover her soulmate words on her wrist, she had heard that once you meet your person, the words change colour according to your partner’s astrological sign. Her words were currently dark green, being a Virgo and a Earth sign. She had heard so many rumours about the concept of soulmates it was difficult to sort out the truth from the lies, she had made a point of not looking at anyone else’s soulmate words, which meant she had no real idea whether the colour change was real or what colours other people’s were naturally.

She blinked, snapping out of her head. She had been known to spend hours obsessing over the soulmate based theories, there were so many of them. She headed outside to find some of the other Islanders gathered on the pool loungers. Priya is sitting among the boys, who are giving her their full attention. Lottie sits a short distance away at the edge of the pool, cautiously listening in. Gary notices Alecto approach and waves her over to his lounger.

“Hey, Alecto! Take a seat! I’m just quizzing the boys a bit.” Priya said, giving her a smile. _She still has that bracelet on, like you. Both of you have the same idea of hiding the soulmate words._

“There’s a quiz?” Ibrahim asked, sounding confused.

“Figure of speech, mate.” Gary explained.

“I mean, I’m trying to learn a bit about the couples here. I need to figure out my options, you know? Want to play my ‘good cop’, Alecto?” Priya asked. Alecto notices Lottie eyeing her pointedly, swinging her legs in the water. _It could be a way to make up with Lottie a bit, but she does have Hannah in terms of best friends. You might get along with Priya better, you don’t know if you don’t try._

“Why do we have to be cops? And you’re going to be the bad cop?” Alecto asked to clarify what Priya was suggesting. She was a little sceptical about the whole idea, but turning down Priya outright was too rude. She felt herself being drawn to Priya, she seemed to light up the room. She was as bright as her outfit, a gorgeous orange swimsuit with a matching orange coverup. 

“Exactly.” Priya said.

“I don’t know about being a cop, but I’ll do my best.” Alecto replied.

“Detectives, then?” Priya asked.

“Those are still cops.” Alecto replied, she was likely a little too blunt, but the idea itself was strange.

“Oh, oops!” Priya replied, being able to admit her mistake without getting mad, which was definitely good in Alecto’s opinion. _Priya is so glamorous, but she’s also kind of goofy, isn’t she? There’s nothing wrong with that though, it’s a nice change from dealing with overly dramatic people._

“Well, let’s call it ‘two girls, lots of questions’?” Priya asked, changing her tactics with the game she was planning.

Just then, Lottie strolls closer to the group and sits down. _Please don’t be here to start something! It’s only the morning, there’s a whole day yet._

“You make it sound hot.” Lottie replied, a smirk on her face. Alecto picked up on the sarcasm in her words pretty easily, Lottie had become quite easy for her to read.

“I can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic.” Priya replied, watching Lottie carefully. _Hmm. Guess not everyone is as good at reading people as you._

“Why not? Everyone loves authority figures, right?” Lottie replied, her words laced with sarcasm. It could be missed, as her words were careful, but Alecto was taking the opportunity to study both of them while she was focused on the conversation itself.

“Ah, leave it out, Lottie.” Gary replied, frowning. _With any luck that puts a stop to this little thing that’s happening._

“I know, I know. Sorry.” It was a job to figure out whether she was actually sorry, or just pretending. Alecto wasn’t too sure herself at this point.

“We’re all just having a chat. We’ll be in here together for a while, you know.” Rocco replied.

Bobby waggles his fingers spookily, breaking up the tension with a Dracula voice. “Until de-e-a-a-th!” She noticed the frown had returned to Lottie’s face. _Uh oh._

“I said it was spooky in here yesterday!” Lottie said.

“I guess I must have missed that, too.” Priya replied. _You missed it too, as well. Unless Lottie is just bluffing and trying to mess with Priya again, which if so, come on! Really, are we teenagers or something?_

An awkward silence falls. Alecto notices both Lottie and Priya watching her expectantly. _Right, okay. Either focus conversation on one of them or on the boys. It’ll have to be a snap decision, you’re definitely not the best person at doing this. You have been neglecting Lottie a bit, so maybe that way?_

She tapped her chin as she was trying to decide, when she was nervous, both her hands had to remain occupied.

“Lottie, Rocco, how are you two getting on so far?” To her relief, she noticed a smile had appeared on Lottie’s face. _Phew._

“I think Lottie seems like an adventure. I’m looking forward to following the map of her tattoos, in fact.” Rocco said, the look on his face showing he thought what he said was exceptionally profound.

“Are you serious?” The pout had returned to Lottie’s face again.

“My ink represents my journeys through life. I’m sure yours does, too. I’ve been searching for a woman printed with stories of her own.” Rocco replied.

“Oh, please!” Lottie tries her best to look annoyed, but Alecto can tell she loves the attention. Laughter softens her expression.

“So, Priya. How are you going to decide who to pick?” Lottie asked.

“I feel like I can’t just pick based on who’s the fittest. It’s about feeling that connection with someone, right?” Priya replied.

“Absolutely. Do you believe in vibes?” Rocco asked.

“As in vibrators?” Priya said, giving him a quizzical look.

“Vibrations! Like, positive vibes!” Rocco explained.

“Oh my gosh!”

All the Islanders laugh. Even Lottie’s reserved expression cracks, and a fun mood fills the poolside air.

Bobby starts to sing and pump his arms. “It’s such-a, good-vibration!”

Priya buries her face in her hands, whilst Bobby keeps singing.

“It’s such-a, swe-e-eet sen-sa-tion!”

“I’ll never be able to hear that song the same way again!” Ibrahim said, a wide smile on his face.

“Me neither!” Alecto replied, an easy grin landing on her face.

“Making good memories in the Villa already, Mr June!” Gary replied, teasing Ibrahim.

“Please don’t call me Mr June.” Ibrahim said, the smile had vanished.

Priya leans forward, eager to shift the focus of the teasing.

“That’s right, weren’t you in a ‘Hot Men of Golf’ calendar?” Priya said, a smirk on her face.

“I-it was just called ‘Men of Golf’, and it was the most embarrassing photo!” Ibrahim looked uncomfortable under the spotlight.

“Can we call you ‘Ibrahim the Dream’?” Bobby asked, a grin on his face.

“Please don’t. My friends call me Rahim.” Ibrahim said.

“Can I be your friend, Rahim?” Priya asked. Alecto looked between the two of them with interest, Priya definitely appeared a much better match than Hope was turning out to be for Ibrahim. Hope appeared to have vanished, as well as Marisol. _It might be good to go looking for them, but it’s relaxing here and nice in the sun. It’s also good to listen to this conversation and bond as a group a little, and the heat does mean you’re not in any hurry to move if you don’t need to._

“Hell no.” Rahim replied. There’s an uncomfortable pause.

“Oh?” Priya looks a little sad, her expression dimming. Hopefully Rahim could find a way to save this one.

“Uh, not that it’s bad to be friends. Or even to watch ‘Friends’.” He facepalms. “With a beautiful lady like yourself, I’d wish to be more than friends.”Rahim replied, a flirty expression appearing on his face. _Okay. His chat is more than a little bit dodgy, but he’s saved it! Hopefully, anyway._

“Oh! I see!” Priya’s face lit up once more, like sunlight. _Hope definitely wouldn’t be into this ‘friendship’, but who cares? Couples do change like the wind in this place._

“We’ll work on your chat a bit, Rahim.” Gary said.

“Seeing as we’re getting to know each other. Tell me Bobby, you ever done it in a kitchen?” Priya asked, leaning on her hands.

“Funnily enough, there’s only been one time when I’ve come close.” Bobby said.

“Only come close? What happened?” Alecto asked, she pushed her glasses up her nose and decided to enter the conversation as she had been rather quiet until then.

“Did you pop her up on the counter then realise it was too high up?” Everyone looks at Gary, eyebrows raised inquisitively.

“What? It’s been known to happen.” Gary said, trying to defend himself. Of all the boys in this particular group, both Bobby and Gary were the shortest, so Alecto understood his reasoning a bit, being the shortest herself.

“Er, no that wasn’t it. Neither of us had a condom actually. So we dusted the flour off ourselves and I made her an epic cheese toastie.” Bobby explained.

“So you decided to just not do it? That’s really responsible.” Alecto replied.

“Well you have to be, right? It wouldn’t have been smart.” Bobby said. _Yup, he definitely has a point. You’ve definitely known and heard of guys who will refuse to use a condom outright._

“Yeah, you’re right. It’s not worth the risk.” She agreed.

“Well, that’s one thing we don’t have to worry about. There are plenty of condoms in here. I was having a snoop around and found a bowl full of them.” Gary said.

“It’s so refreshing talking to you guys.” Alecto replied, fiddling with the ends of her hair, she felt like there was so much nervous energy going through her at the moment and was trying to dispel it a little bit.

“Some of the guys I’ve known would try every excuse under the sun not to use one.” Priya said. 

“I’m not proud of it, but I used to be one of those.” Gary said. _‘Used to’ is definitely the key phrase here. At least he’s changed._

“Come on pal, don’t be that guy.” Bobby said.

“I’d never do it again, believe me!” Gary said, defending himself.

“I’m really glad you’ve changed.” Alecto said.

“Me too. I’m really embarrassed thinking back on it. Like I said, it’s not something I’d do again.” Gary replied.

“You know what they say - no glove, no love.” Priya said. _That sounds like an advert, it probably is._

There’s a moment of silence. This time, it’s more welcoming, the dodgy energy from earlier appears to have dissipated.

“Wait, what were we talking about before we got onto condoms?” Priya asked. _Useful question. You lost the conversation a while ago, it’s a miracle you haven’t zoned out yet._

“I have no idea. My head’s in a spin and I really fancy a cheese toastie.” Bobby replied.

“I like to use rhythm and rhyme to organise my thoughts.” Rocco said.

“You do? Wait, don’t answer that. Of course you do.” Lottie sounded surprised to begin with, unless it was a rhetorical question. Her pout returned to her face.

“Got any rhymes about churros?” Gary asked. _Okay, he might be just teasing or actually serious, this heat is making your people reading skills more than a little rusty._

“Churros are quite rhythmic, it’s true, but no! I mostly make up rhymes about love and travel.” Rocco replied.

“How are churros rhythmic?” Priya asked, a little confused. 

Rocco palms his hand through his soft curls and gazes at Priya from beneath long lashes.

“Maybe you’d like to find out?” Rocco said. _That’s for sure a line! Flirting with Priya while Lottie is around is not going to end well. There’s going to be a blow up in 3-2-1!_

“Could you not creep on Priya right in front of me?” Lottie gave him a glare that was so powerful it could likely wilt plants. To Rocco’s credit, it didn’t have any effect on him.

“It was just a harmless flirtation. I’m a natural flirt, I can’t help it.” Rocco explained. _Okay, that’s not going to end well._

“You’re being really disrespectful.” Lottie’s green eyes were giving off sparks of pure anger, and her voice had gone cold with anger.

“It’s just two attractive people enjoying each other. As long as you don’t actually act on it, what’s the harm? Right, Alecto?”Rocco said. _Oh shit. Of course he has to try and get you involved. Looks like you keep being put in the peacemaker role._

“It’s unfair to your partner. I think it’s a huge red flag if your partner flirts with other people.” She replied, fiddling with her bracelet. 

“Me too. No one’s saying you can’t find other people attractive. But like, keep it in your pants, you know?” Lottie replied, her powerful glare focused on Rocco.

“It definitely depends. But I don’t usually like guys who are too smooth.” Priya said.

“Yeah, neither do I.” Lottie agreed.

“That may spell trouble for our hero, Captain B. Smooth.” Bobby chipped in, a wide grin on his face. 

“You’re ‘B.Smooth’?” Gary asked.

“Being too smooth has never been a problem for me.” Ibrahim replied. _Yup. That’s definitely something you relate to, depending on the person you either become a functional mess or an awkward hurricane around people you like. That isn’t happening much with this lot though. There’s two, kind of three exceptions though realistically._

“You guys are a lot! Maybe I need to start going after quieter, more gentler types. What’s the deal with Noah and Hannah?” Priya asked. 

Alecto curled a strand of hair around her finger as she tried to think how to put this. _Hannah is already dealing with hell from Hope, she doesn’t need Priya on her back also. But they definitely seemed too perfect in general. You don’t have anything against either of them but it’s your opinion._

“They’re too serious too early, I think it’s too early in the game to be as attached as they seem to be.” She replied, keeping her words short and to the point. To her surprise, Lottie didn’t turn her glare onto her, despite Lottie and Hannah being attached at the hip.

“Gotta agree with you there, Alecto.” Gary replied.

“Especially since we don’t want them to form an alliance and start voting others out.” Bobby agreed.

“Not sure that’s exactly how this works, mate.” Gary replied.

“Do you think I’d have a chance of getting in between Hannah and Noah?” Priya asked. _Ah, there it is. Priya has a thing for Noah, oh great._

“Unlikely. They’re really going for that ‘power couple’ vibe already.” Rocco pointed out.

Priya turned to Alecto and Gary.

“And how strong are you two now, after last night?” Priya asked.

“I think we’re also one of the stronger couples, but I don’t know how Alecto feels yet.” Gary replied. _That’s an easy answer to give, you know perfectly how you feel._

“I think we’re really solid. Last night went exactly the way I wanted. I’m feeling even stronger with Gary than before.” Alecto replied, being able to answer without too much extra thought.

Gary sits up a little straighter at her answer, and he studies her intently. Priya rests her face in her hands and sighs.

“I really like everyone here, especially Alecto. And Hope seems like a really cool person, but no matter what I do, someone will be upset.” Priya said. _She definitely had a difficult decision to make, it’s lucky it’s not you in her place._

“Or you could still end up going home just as fast as you came in. That kind of thing can happen here.” Lottie chipped in.

“Ugh, no, that would be the worst. But I don’t think that will happen to me. I’m in it for the long haul.” Priya said.

“We all are. But some of us are flying first class.” Lottie picks up her personalised water bottle and stands up. “I need to go find Hannah and Hope. We need to have a strategy chat.” She looks over her shoulder at Alecto expectantly. “Coming, Alecto?”

“Actually, I’d like to have a chat with Alecto too.” Gary turned to Alecto with a pointed look. She’s not too sure what it means. “If you want to, that is. I’ll be over by the daybeds.”

_Priya mentioned not wanting to upset you or Hope. Could that mean she’s deciding between Gary and Ibrahim? But it also sounds like Noah could be her type, too. It might not be the best idea to get herself involved in the Hannah/Noah/Hope love triangle, and in addition Lottie will certainly jump on her for that, she’s very protective over Hannah. Lottie hasn’t exactly welcomed her, either. She might choose to go for Rocco, just to get one over on her. Considering all of that, you’ll need to be strategic about how you spend your afternoon. Priya might have to pick a boy as soon as tonight. All the girls are worried, but it makes more sense for you to put Gary first right now._

She stands up, heading for the daybeds to meet Gary. As she makes her way over, Ibrahim jogs out from the kitchen up to her.

“Hey, Alecto! I’m glad I bumped into you.” Ibrahim said.

“Jogging towards me is ‘bumping’ into me?” She asked, giving him a confused glance. 

“Ah,well...yeah. I thought, ‘I’m glad I caught you’ may sound a bit odd. There’s not really an easy way to say hi to someone after running for them…Erm, anyway...I’m glad you’re here. I’d like to have a chat with you. It’s about something...important. Are you free?” He asked. _Okay. First Bobby yesterday now Ibrahim today. Two people you’re having to turn down. Just go easy on him, you slightly crushed Bobby._

“Umm...Gary wanted to have a word.” She replied.

“I don’t know if we’ll get much of a chance to talk soon and this could benefit us both...I’m sure Gary can stand to wait a little longer.” Ibrahim explained.

“Sorry, I just don’t have time.” She replied, trying to let him down gently. She was aware he wasn’t exactly getting on well with Hope, but Priya would definitely be a better fit for him than she would, she knew that for certain.

Ibrahim scratched the back of his head.

“Okay…” He gave her a sad look, obviously disappointed.

Gary is waiting for her alone on the daybeds, he smiles up at her.

“You came over straight away!” Gary said, sounding impressed.

“I can talk to the girls in a bit. I thought it was more important for us to catch up first, given the situation.” Alecto replied, doing things this way definitely appeared more logical to her.

“With Priya?” Gary asked.

“Yeah.” She said.

“There were some things I wanted to chat with you about, too.” Gary said.

“Oh? What’s up?” Alecto was definitely interested as to what else Gary wanted to talk to her about.

“I thought you handled the dynamics between Priya and Lottie pretty well back there. I felt you and I came across as a strong couple, too.” Gary said. _Okay, so he compliments you on your peacemaking skills. That’s definitely good, you’ve spent time learning how to do that for a reason._

“Is this what you wanted to tell me?” Alecto asked, she wanted to check for any ulterior motives behind his comments and whether he was hiding anything. She had always been more careful with relationships, since Étienne and Andromeda and that whole mess.

“When you told Priya you felt really solid with me, did you really mean it?” He asked.

“I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t mean it, I’ve always been more honest in general with my statements.” She replied easily.

“Oh, good. It was a bold move saying it in front of everyone. I was afraid you’d try to keep your options open now that Priya’s here. We’ll have to keep checking in with each other. I don’t want Priya to pick me. I want to find a way for us to stay together.” Gary shifts decisively closer to her, leaning in for a kiss. _Bold? How odd, you’ve never been bold in your life. First Marisol now Gary, guess your mask is just that good, huh._

She blinked and the thoughts vanished from her head. She leaned into Gary and their lips touch. She closes her eyes as he wraps his arms around her. His lips press against hers and she sinks into the kiss. She feels his hands slide up her back and they send a shiver down her spine. As their lips parted she opened her eyes to see Gary looking back at her. 

_With any luck he missed the moment of hesitation, he likely did._

“I should have guessed you were a good kisser…” He looked pleased, to say the least.

“You’re not too bad yourself.” She replied, her voice sliding into a flirty tone.

Gary wraps his arm around her and grins.

“As first kisses go, that was a cracker.” Gary said.

There’s a moment of silence. Gary runs a hand up her arm, giving her goosebumps. Their eyes meet and he smiles warmly.

_Okay, Gary thinks you’re a good kisser. There’s a small spark there, but it hasn’t increased in size yet, which is odd. Maybe you’re meant for a little more? It’s difficult to work it out for sure though, as you definitely don’t have a spark with any of the other boys._

“How was your first kiss?” Alecto asked, trying to get out of her head for a bit.

“Painful. I was about five. Kissed a girl in the sand pit.” Gary replied, he looked like he was thinking of something.

“How was that painful?” She asked, she was definitely curious.

“She belted me with a plastic spade straight after. And that’s how I learned love hurts and always let her make the first move.” Gary replied.

Alecto laughed and Gary gave her a cuddle. She knew talking about her own first kiss would be a no go area, she wanted to get to know someone before she dumped the details of the Étienne mess on them. 

“Let’s change the subject. Do you think you’d, you know...do bits in the Villa?” She asked.

Gary laughed in surprise.

“Well, that was a gear shift. Um, I’m not sure. Maybe. It depends.” He replied.

“You mean, it depends on the girl?” She said.

“Perhaps that’s part of it, yeah. But I meant more like, it depends on the moment.” Gary said.

“What do you mean?” She asked.

“I mean if my head wasn’t in the right place, or she wasn’t in the mood, then no. Finding someone attractive isn’t the only thing that matters when it comes to getting it on.” He explained.

“You need to be comfortable.” She replied, she knew it would take a lot and a special person to make her feel comfortable. She was so used to being precise and careful with everything she did to prevent herself getting hurt or messing up, but it happened anyway. She had to maintain such a level of control that it was starting to grate on her inside, she knew it wasn’t healthy, but it was the only way she had of coping, apart from shutting down and shutting off her feelings entirely which also wasn’t healthy. 

“That’s important. I mean, you’re going to be naked with them. Doesn’t matter who you are, it’s a whole other kind of intimacy isn’t it?” Gary agreed.

“Yeah you’re right. You need to feel at ease.” She said. _And take down walls and all of this fakery, which you are exceptionally shit at._

“That’s what I mean. Being ready for it physically and being ready for it emotionally isn’t the same thing.” Gary said.

“No, you’re right, it isn’t. So if someone just isn’t up for it…” She said.

“If one person isn’t up for it then it’s not happening. End of.” He clarified.

“And if there are only five minutes available, you just shouldn’t bother.” She replied.

“Fair enough.” Gary stretches himself out on the daybed and looks at her thoughtfully. “Right, my turn to ask a question.”

“Go on.” She replied.

“Who do you think will be first to have sex in here?” He asked.

“Hannah, it’s always the quiet ones that surprise you. She’s pretty loved up with Noah and they’re quite a strong couple.” She explained.

“Interesting… You know what, Alecto? I like chatting with you.” He replied.

“I like chatting with you, too.” She said. He definitely took some of the edge off her, but she wasn’t entirely free of walls.

“We should probably rejoin the others, eh?” He said.

Alecto stands up and makes her way to the roof terrace to find Hope, Hannah, Lottie and Marisol enjoying some sun.

“...so that’s why you never buy tarot cards from bookstores. Understood?” Lottie finished her explanation just as Alecto arrived at the roof terrace, which was a little bit of a pain as Alecto was interested herself. She supposed she had kept them waiting though.

“Right-o.” Hannah replied. They hadn’t noticed her yet, so Alecto just stood there awkwardly, making sure she didn’t zone out of the conversation.

“Don’t you think that tarot stuff is a bit...er…”Marisol floundered, trying to find the right words. Alecto supposed she was trying to avoid offending Lottie.

“A bit what?” Lottie asked, watching her carefully.

“Well, you know, er…” Marisol still wasn’t having much luck.

“A bit what, exactly?” Lottie asked, her voice gaining a bite to it. She was clearly losing patience with Marisol.

“Oh! Hi, Alecto, join us!” Hannah said, giving her a grin. _Finally. That took ages._

“Hi girls, what have I missed?” Alecto asked, taking a seat among the warm cushions of the roof terrace.

“Oh good. Alecto will sort this. What do you think of tarot, Alecto?” Marisol asked, looking relieved to be off the hook. 

“What’s that? I don’t really know a lot about it.” Alecto said, she was open to learning more about it, one of her sisters definitely had a tarot deck hanging around in the house, but it was always such a mess that she hadn’t found it yet. That is, if it was still there.

“Me either, if I’m honest, but I’d rather spend my time on real issues.” Marisol replied. _So much for not sticking your foot in it._

“Tarot _is_ real.” Lottie replied, giving her a glare. Alecto watched carefully for a fight or an argument so she could try and prevent it.

“I always thought tarot was for fun, not really spiritual or anything. The cards show classic images that represent archetypes of a person’s journey through life. I still think it’s more fun to believe in magic, though!” Hannah replied, managing to diffuse the tension.

“Me too. There are all different kinds of ways to think of things.” Lottie said.

“We could use a crystal ball right about now though, right, girls?” Hope replied, obviously hinting towards the Priya situation.

“What kind of crystal would we need? Rutilated quartz? Selenite? Smoky quartz? Orbital calcite? Oh! What about an obsidian scrying mirror?” Lottie’s green eyes were bright with excitement and she smiled, clearly thinking of magical things.

“You brought crystals to Love Island?” Marisol asked, unable to hide the surprise in her voice.

“No, I left them at home. I was worried they would soak up too many competing energies in this place.” Lottie replied.

“Oh, no crystals. Too bad.” Marisol said. For a little bit, Alecto was able to read her fairly well but now she appeared to have closed herself off again. 

“Oh well! It would be lovely if we could just wave a magic wand and find out who Priya will pick.” Hope replied, sounding positive. Alecto was still a bit wary of her, but she appeared to have cooled off a little.

“That’s actually what Alecto and I wanted to talk to you girls about. We’ve kind of been kept waiting a while though, Alecto.” Lottie glared at her, and she flinched back a bit. _Lottie does have a point, you were with Gary for quite a while._

“Sorry. I had to have a chat with Gary.” She said, twisting her hands together in her lap, dealing with tension well wasn’t her strong suit.

“I see where your priorities are.” Lottie replied, looking disappointed. _That’s not fair. Why is she holding you to such high standards anyway?_

“Ah, that’s not fair, Lottie. Don’t worry, Alecto, we’re all trying to sort out our couples now that Priya’s in the mix.” Hope replied, moving closer to Alecto and resting a hand on her knee. _Okay, maybe she’s not so bad. She did stand up for me after all._

“So what happened over there with Priya and the boys? She didn’t try anything on with Bobby, did she?” Marisol asked.

“Not that I could tell. She seemed kind of into Ibrahim and Gary, if you ask me.” Lottie said.

“Ugh, still?” Hope sounded fed up.

“Yup. And Ibrahim seemed to go for it, if I’m honest.” Lottie replied.

“I assumed she would intimidate him too much!” Hope said.

“Oh, he was intimidated. But also into it.” Lottie said.

“Great. Well, at least I know.” Hope said.

“As for Rocco, he flirted with her right in front of us! I couldn’t believe it!” Lottie said.

“I bet you roasted him for that, Lottie.” Hannah said.

“Of course I did. So disrespectful!” Lottie’s eyes flashed with a spark of anger.

“You’re the coolest, Lottie. What about Noah? Did Noah come up at all?” Hannah asked, looking excited.

“I don’t know, not really.” Alecto said.

“Really? Is that true?” Hannah asked.

“Well, Priya was sitting there trying to suss out the boys. She tried to get Alecto to help her, but we weren’t getting involved.” Lottie explained.

“Good.” Hope said.

“Alecto also tried to turn the conversation back onto Rocco and me, which was cool.” Lottie said.

“That sounds good.” Marisol replied.

“Well, you should have heard Rocco’s cheesy lines! ‘Babe, I love your ink. It’s so meaningful.’” Lottie tried to do an impression of Rocco.

“That’s such a line.” Hope said.

“I don’t know why guys always think that’s original.” Lottie said, sounding annoyed. _She appeared to like it earlier, unless she was faking it to throw off Priya. Which if so, was quite good tactics._

“I think that’s romantic in it’s own way, Lottie.” Hannah said, looking dreamy eyed.

“We shouldn’t be so easy to impress, Han…” Lottie said.

“What about Noah?” Hannah asked.

Lottie sighed and rolled her eyes behind Hannah’s back, she was definitely being a little over the top with mentioning Noah, it was getting to Alecto a bit too. Hope had moved her hand a while ago, and Alecto slid an arm around her shoulders as she could tell the other girl was tense. _It can’t have been easy having your first choice stolen, she definitely could have gone about it better._

Alecto tried to signal to Lottie with her eyes to go easy on Hannah, but Lottie wasn’t making eye contact with her.

“Fine, I’ll tell you something about Noah. It’s way too early for you two to be serious for real.” Lottie said. 

“I agree. You should be careful, Hannah.” Marisol said. She had been fairly quiet during this exchange, along with Alecto herself. Observing a conversation and listening from the background would always be more attractive to Alecto than participating, she found herself having to plan in detail her every word when she would speak, so being a mostly silent observer was her preferred position. She pushed her glasses up her nose, the heat had caused them to slide slightly. 

“I know. I feel like it’s all going so fast, but I can’t stop!” Hannah sounded so excited, she was the most positive of all of them by far at the moment. _Hmm. Having such a stable couple could do that to you, also. But maybe not quite as hyper._

“Hannah and Noah are the main lust goblins in the Villa!” Marisol said, a grin on her face, as she teased Hannah.

“L-lust goblins?” Hope sounded slightly off again.

“What if we’re soulmates? Sometimes you just know right away!” Hannah said, curling her hand around her wrist in the spot where soulmate words are usually situated. 

“There’s no such thing as soulmates. Right, Alecto?” Marisol said. She sounded entirely serious about her statement, which surprised Alecto. It was rare to meet someone who didn’t believe in soulmates as a concept entirely, usually people believed the basic theory and cherry picked which additional theories they used to support the original hypothesis. She was aware that there were people who discarded the entire thing, but she had never met anyone who avoided the concept entirely. Getting into a debate about it was something she was trying to avoid, even though she had been prepared specifically for this kind of debate. She wondered why Marisol thought that way, and whether that could be related to the way she had her right hand curled as soulmate words usually sat around the wrist of the dominant hand. Alecto was left handed, which was more rare in general, she twisted the bracelet on her wrist as she worked out how she could get out of this. _Aha! Lust goblins! Perfect._ She realised she had remained silent for too long, and she noticed Marisol watching her, but when she made eye contact, the other girl looked away. _How strange._

“Marisol’s right. You and Noah are lust goblins.” Alecto replied nonchalantly, trying to be as relaxed as possible so no one would comment on the hesitation.

“You two are moving into the lust goblins’ lair.” Lottie teased, joining in.

“What even is a ‘lust goblin’?” Hannah asked, looking confused.

“It’s you and Noah!” Marisol said brightly.

“You’re the King and Queen of lust goblin castle!” Lottie said.

“I just mean you should keep a clear head, Hannah.” Marisol explained, her expression returning to neutral.

“In a dark cave beneath the Villa, an ancient dynasty of lust goblins bequeaths their crown to the next King and Queen!” Hannah actually sounded excited about the lust goblin idea now.

“That’s probably enough, Hannah.” Lottie said, trying to change the conversation. Alecto wasn’t sure if Lottie had also picked up the fact Hope was clearly off throughout this, or if she just wanted to protect Hannah.

“I wonder if I could turn this into a short story. But maybe you’re right. I’ll still be sad if Priya gets in between me and Noah. It’s still so early and his head could be turned.” Hannah said, her bubble appeared to have burst and she was less excitable.

“It feels like none of us are really safe right now. Alecto, have you spoken to Gary?” Marisol said, she sounded uncertain about her position. _Priya wasn’t even interested in Bobby! You and Hope are the ones who most need to be worried here!_ She bit her lip, messing with her hair.

“Yeah, we had a big chat.” Alecto said.

“She kept us waiting, remember? I’m going to go pull Rocco away from Priya.” Lottie said.

“I should check in with Noah, too.” Hannah said.

“We’ll get together later on, ladies.” Hope said.

“Good talk, everyone.” Lottie finished. She sounded pleased with how the discussion had gone.

The girls gather themselves and head inside.


	5. Chapter 5

The Islanders are on the lawn in a big group.

“The air smells so good today, doesn’t it? People create powerful memories through scents.” Hannah said.

“Has anyone been smelling pineapple?” Noah asked. _Definitely, it’s coming from Marisol. The pineapple smell is definitely gorgeous though._

“I’ve smelled coconut, personally.” Rocco replied.

“It’s gotta be someone’s sun cream.” Gary said. _That also makes sense. At least both smells are good, you’ve smelled much worse than coconut and pineapple even though together they wouldn’t smell good._

“I smelled it in the dressing room earlier. I thought it was body spray. Did you smell it, Alecto?” Hannah asked.

“I think Hannah and Noah are right. It smelled like pineapple body spray to me.” Alecto replied, she hadn’t even had to think about that one.

“I thought so. I have a sparkly pineapple spray at home!” Hannah replied.

“I still think we have a little mystery on our hands.” Marisol said. _Mist-ery! That would be a good pun._

“A coconut and pineapple mist-ery!” Bobby said. Alecto laughed, it appeared that Bobby had read her mind. There was only so much ignoring of puns and jokes she could do.

“By the way, do you say ‘sun cream’ or ‘suntan lotion’?” Marisol asked. _Sun cream for sure! It must be different in different regions or something._

“Sunblock?” Gary asked.

“Tanning oil is different from sun cream.” Ibrahim said.

“Absolutely! You don’t want to mix those up if you’re ginger like me.” Hannah replied. _That’s also the case if you’re pale skinned and struggle to tan like you._

A familiar sound caught everyone’s attention.

“Guys! I got a text! My first missive from our Island Overlords!” Hannah strikes an elegant pose as she proudly recites the text.

“Islanders, it’s time for ‘Two Truths and a Lie! Each of you will list three facts about yourselves, with…” she is cut off in the middle of her sentence.

“And we have to guess which one’s the lie, right?” Lottie finished. Alecto raised her eyebrows. _That was rude! Poor Hannah._ Hannah didn’t appear upset by the interruption as she continued.

“Yes! Hashtag, ‘hidden depths’, hashtag ‘truths emerge’! I love that.” Hannah said, a bright smile remained on her face.

“Oh no, I hate this game. I can never read people.” Ibrahim said, looking miffed. He looks at Alecto, silently begging for help. She bites her lip, turning away from him and pretending to not notice his unease. She was far too competitive for her own good, so people who struggled with this kind of thing would become collateral damage for her. _Maybe you are a little bit cutthroat yourself then?_

“Don’t worry, Rahim. We’ll figure it out.” Hope said, surprising Alecto by agreeing to help him. 

“I probably won’t do very well either, Rahim. I only just met everyone.” Priya said, trying to reassure him.

“Bet Hannah and Noah will know each other’s answers.” Gary said. _Yup, of all of us, they’re definitely the closest couple._

“Hopefully.” Noah said, looking worried. _It’s only a game! It’s fine if you don’t get it._

“Where were you two all morning, anyway?” Gary asked.

“We stayed behind to make the beds.” Noah said.

“Is that what we’re calling it now?” Bobby said, teasing Noah.

Hannah’s face flushed with embarrassment. Alecto felt sorry for her a bit, being the centre of attention for something like this clearly wasn’t easy. Noah seemed to pick up her unease, putting his arm around Hannah’s shoulders. The other Islanders continue to tease Hannah and Noah all the way to the firepit. It surprised Alecto that Lottie didn’t step in. _Guess they’re not that close, after all. Maybe you still have a chance at being her friend at least._

The Islanders are all gathered around the firepit for the game.

The first one in the hot seat is...Hope!

“I’m up for it!” She said, a grin on her face. Ibrahim looked nervous, Alecto could tell he was uncertain whether he would get it or not.

“Let’s see, two truths about me and one lie? Fact one: I sing in a choir, fact two: I make an amazing roast dinner and fact three: I once got kicked out of a water park.” Hope said.

“And only one of these is a lie, hm?” Rocco said, giving Hope a thoughtful glance.

“I definitely don’t see her getting kicked out of a water park.” Noah said. Ibrahim remained silent,and shifted from foot to foot.

“Really? I’d guess she’s lying about making a roast. She works too much.” Marisol said. _Bingo! Yup, the roast is definitely the lie, that’s for sure._

“I bet she sings like a nightingale. I’m pretty sure I heard her humming while we were doing our hair.” Hannah said, giving Hope a smile. 

“What is it, Noah? What should we guess? Ibrahim asked, clearly having no clue. 

“You’re the one coupled up with her, but I’d say water park.” Noah replied.

“Roast!” Marisol instantly replied. 

“I don’t know what to believe!” Ibrahim clearly was uncomfortable being put on the spot, he shifted from foot to foot avoiding eye contact with the other Islanders. _He looks completely lost like he has no idea of the ‘right’ answer or the right thing to say._

“Then let’s have Alecto decide.” Marisol said. _Perfect. Let’s put these powers of observation of yours to use, shall we?_

“Marisol had a good point. Career-driven people like Hope often don’t have time to cook.” Alecto replied, confidence easily appearing in her words.

“I’m telling you, it’s the water park. Hope is too much of a lady to be kicked out of a water park. High five!” Noah holds his palm up to Hope. After an odd pause, it’s clear she’s leaving him hanging. _Okay. It’s not the water park, and there’s a chance Hope will blow up at him in 3,2,1!_

“I hate to tell you this, but it’s not the water park. I can’t cook.” Hope replied, giving him a very wary look. _Excellent. 1 down, let’s hope your observation skills are this good for the rest of them. Maybe she’s realised that they’re not compatible and will stop making drama with Hannah? Hmm. We can hope._

“At all?” Noah asked, looking uncertain.

“I even mucked up instant gravy last Christmas.” Hope said. _How do you mess up with instant gravy? You’ve blown up a microwave with a popcorn accident once and put metal in one, so that’s two microwave incidents. But instant gravy? Come on, that must be hard to muck up! You’re a slightly better cook now, but still._

“Why were you kicked out of the water park?” Noah asked.

“Just a little misunderstanding. It definitely wasn’t my fault! A staff member was needlessly argumentative about the wave pool policy. We only brought in a little champagne! Not even a whole bottle!” She explained.

“Sounds like it was a fun day?” Noah said.

“It was. But what did you mean by ‘lady’?” Hope asked. _She’s definitely not going to drop this._

“What?” Noah asked.

“What’s ‘too much of a lady’ supposed to mean?” Hope asked, looking furious with him, shooting him an angry glare.

“I was just trying to compliment you.” Noah said, looking uncomfortable. Everyone else is silent, watching the argument unfold.

“It felt loaded.” Hope said, locking eyes with him with a stern look on her face.

“Like Hope was in the wave pool!” Bobby said, trying to lighten the mood.

Hope frowns and looks away from the group. Ibrahim reaches for her hand, but she ignores him. The atmosphere shifted into an awkward silence before being broken by the text chime.

The next Islander up is...Noah!

“Get ready, babe.” Hope said, giving Noah a pointed look. _Isn’t Noah going to say something? He’s coupled up with Hannah!_

Alecto notices Gary smirking and how Lottie is already bored, looking at her wrist and tapping her foot in impatience. _Let’s see if Hannah can get Noah’s after Noah messed up with Hope’s. With any luck, that’s the last of the tension._

“Yeah, ‘babe’.” Gary said.

“Aw, I’d quite like to be called ‘babe’...” Hannah replied, twisting her hands together.

“Like Babe the Pig?” Bobby said.

“I love that movie!” Noah replied.

Bobby begins to dance and perform a song he thinks is from the animated film ‘Babe’.

“That’s not how it goes. Stop.” Noah said, glaring at Bobby for the interruption.

“How does it go?” Bobby asked.

“I just want to take my turn in the game.” Noah said.

“This is our chance to bounce back, babe.” Hope said. _Wait, she called him babe again? Seriously?_ Alecto scanned the other Islanders, to see if anyone else found a problem with this. Lottie was staring daggers at Hope, while Hannah looked thoughtful.

“I’ve got a pet snake called Frank, I collect miniature sculptures, and um… my favourite food is Monster Munch.” Noah said.

“I reckon he’s got a pet snake. He probably walks around his flat with it draped over his neck like a scarf. I can picture it.” Bobby said.

“Noah said ‘um’ before the Monster Munch statement. That’s the flavour of hesitation that indicates a lie, in my experience.” Marisol said, looking confident. _Not always. Sometimes people do that to throw you off the scent. It’s definitely the snake._

“You wouldn’t eat Monster Munch, would you, babe?” Hope asked. Noah’s calm expression doesn’t give anything away.

“I don’t think Noah collects sculptures.” Hope said.

“But surely he’d have mentioned it if he had a pet snake?” Hannah pointed out. _Good point! Exactly, it’s not the kind of thing you keep secret._

“Unless he’s worried that might scare Hannah off, so he’s keeping it a secret.” Marisol pointed out. _There’s definitely a flaw in your logic here._

“But then why would he reveal it for this challenge?” Hannah said.

“I’m confused again. Should we keep going with Marisol’s picks?” Ibrahim asked, still looking uncomfortable.

“That’s a lot of responsibility. Let’s have Alecto choose.” Marisol said. _She does have a point. Let’s test your powers of observation, again._

“She nailed the last one.” Bobby pointed out.

“No pressure, Alecto.” Marisol grinned, relieved the pressure was off her.

“I think you’re wrong, Bobby.” Alecto replied without hesitation.

“Really?” Bobby looked shocked.

“Noah hasn’t got a pet snake.” She said.

“Aw, c’mon! So what is it, Noah?” Bobby asked.

“I don’t have a snake. I used to really want one, but then I realised that they take up a lot of space, and you need someone to look after it if you go on holiday… much harder to find a snake-sitter than a dog-sitter.” Noah said. _Yes! 2 people down. Also finding a cat-sitter is hard enough, never mind a snake-sitter! Hopefully Sadie isn’t causing too much havoc._

“Yes! I got one.” Hannah grinned, holding her hand up for a high five. Noah returned it, giving her a smile back. _Okay, those two are definitely a good couple. Heck, he might get Hannah’s also._

“I’m so glad you don’t have a snake. But you do collect sculptures? How come you haven’t mentioned it?” Hope said. Lottie looked close to boiling over at this point. _Okay, she really blows hot and cold regarding Hannah, and defending her._

“Maybe because you two aren’t even coupled up! He’s coupled up with Hannah, just in case the rest of you have forgotten.” Lottie replied, her voice ice cold, and her green eyes bright with angry sparks. She sent Hope a glare, Hope didn’t reply to Lottie and the tension once again shifted towards awkward hostility. _Finally someone has said something. Good._

“Well, they’re more like...speciality figurines.” Noah said, looking more than a little bit uncomfortable.

“I see.” Hope said.

“I was sure Hope and Noah would get each other’s. Maybe a day isn’t enough time to really connect with someone after all, and Hannah and Noah are a better fit, given that they’re actually coupled up here.” Priya pointed out.

“It’s just a silly game!” Hope was fuming and snapped at Priya’s remark quickly. 

“Please don’t raise your voice.” Noah said, watching her carefully. He looked uncomfortable being the centre of this much attention. Hope gave Noah an incredulous look, but quietly folded her arms.

Lottie and Gary exchange glances, and then look at Alecto. Lottie mimes a pair of scissors with her fingers, snipping the air between Noah and Hope. She has a satisfied smirk on her face, seeing Hope and Noah argue only proved to her that Hannah was Noah’s true match. Hannah appeared calm, leaning against Noah’s arm wrapped around her shoulders.

“It’s hard for me to be wrong as well, you know.” Marisol said, keeping a straight face. _Is she making a joke? She’s hard to read so it’s hard to tell._

“Is that a joke?” Bobby asked for clarification.

“A bit.” Marisol grinned.

“Let’s change gears, then. Want to be in the hot seat, Marisol?” Gary asked.

“Certainly, but I want Alecto to guess. She clearly knows what she’s doing.” Marisol replied. _No pressure! Gosh._

“Okay.” Alecto said, she felt rather apprehensive. Marisol was far more difficult for her to read than all the others combined, she was unsure why that was the case.

“And whatever you do, don’t listen to Bobby.” Marisol said. _Fair enough._

“Yeah, I wouldn’t even try guessing Marisol’s.” Bobby said. _Wow, harsh. How many couples are going to fight today, seriously?_

“Even though you’re in a couple?” Priya asked.

“‘Wouldn’t even try’? Isn’t that kind of harsh, Bobby?” Marisol snapped, turning her glare on her partner.

“That was really harsh. Not even wanting to try comes across as rude.” Alecto said, giving Marisol some support. She couldn’t stand rudeness in people, and definitely wouldn’t sugarcoat that to people, even those she had known for only a day.

“Thank you, Alecto.” Marisol replied, making eye contact with her and giving her a small smile, before it vanished and she turned the full force of her glare on Bobby.

“That’s not how I meant it!” Bobby protested.

“I didn’t think you meant it in a mean way, Bobby. I think Marisol is a little mysterious, too. Alecto also, both of them have an air of mystery surrounding them.” Priya replied. Bobby gives Priya a grateful look.

“That’s what I was trying to say.” Bobby explained.

The next Islander up is… Marisol!

“Hmph. I salsa dance...I’ve been to prison...and,um,I’m allergic to pineapple.” Marisol’s mouth tilted downwards towards the end of her sentence. _It’s the pineapple! Come on, she has a pineapple scented perfume. Also the prison one must be a trick answer._

“Wouldn’t salsa be kind of a stereotype for a Spanish girl? I can’t imagine Marisol twirling around.” Priya points out. _She does have a point, but it’s so the pineapple!_

Gary sizes Marisol up thoughtfully.

“She’s not been in prison. No chance.” Gary said.

“She said ‘um’. Marisol told us ‘um’ means lying. I bet that’s because it’s her thing! It’s the pineapple!” Bobby pointed out. Alecto looked at Marisol, for some reason she looked very uncomfortable. _Hmm. It’s the pineapple!_

“I think Bobby nailed it this time. She doesn’t have a pineapple allergy.” Alecto confidently replied, making eye contact with Marisol, noticing how the other girl’s face brightened and a smile appeared on her face.

“Yeah, I actually love pineapple. The truth is...I’ve been to prison.” Marisol said.

“What? Really? For what?” Gary’s mouth dropped open and he stared at her.

Marisol’s lips subtly upturn in amusement.

“For law school. We had to visit a prison.” Marisol said, looking delighted at successfully tricking him.

“That’s not what you said! You can’t do trick questions!” Gary sounded very grumpy.

“I know, but mine was a trick _answer_. Alecto wasn’t fooled, anyway.” Marisol replied.

“She’s got you there, Gary!” Bobby pointed out.

Gary grumbles, annoyed at this loose interpretation of the rules.

“And you’re right, Priya…” Marisol said. _There’s got to be a ‘but’ at the end of that sentence!_

“Yes!” Priya said.

“You’re right that salsa would be stereotypical. Which is why I don’t tell a lot of people I do it.” Marisol explained. _Excellent. 3 people down, and not one wrong._

“Oh.” Priya looked disappointed. _You celebrated far too early!_

“I’m really good at salsa. It can’t be helped.” Marisol said.

“So I’m right?” Bobby looked surprised.

“You’re right. I absolutely _love_ pineapple. The juice, the scent…” Marisol looked dreamy as she trailed off the end of her sentence. _So do you! Ham and pineapple pizza is divine!_

“I agree, pineapple is amazing. Ham and pineapple is also my favourite pizza topping. Nice to find a fellow pineapple lover.” Alecto said, making eye contact with Marisol again, and mirroring the other girl’s wide smile.

“Are you the one that’s been spraying the mist?” Rocco asked. _Ooh. The mist-ery will be revealed!_

“The mist-ery!” Bobby said, delighting in his pun, which was dreadful the first time he said it, so the second time it was even worse!

“Don’t you think I would have said so earlier when you asked? Oh, I forgot. I’m mist-erious.” Marisol said. _Oh shoot. Not her then. Why does that pun sound so different coming from her? It sounds much better! Or maybe you have a slight thing for her?_

Scattered laughter brightens the mood of the group, as Bobby and Marisol hug. Only Priya isn’t smiling.

“Can it be my turn to come up with some lies?” Bobby asked. _Let’s see if Marisol gets his, now. You’re on a roll, all you have to do is keep going!_

“Two of them need to be true, you know.” Gary pointed out.

“I know, I know. I need to think.” Bobby sits thinking for a moment, fist under his chin. “It’s hard to keep all of my lies straight…” Alecto’s eyes widened. _Is that a joke? Or does he mean it?_

“What?” Gary looked shocked, his mouth wide open.

“Kidding!” Bobby grinned, apparently delighted his joke fooled people.

“Men who joke about lying always tell lies.” Lottie glared at him.

“You know, Lottie, that’s very true.” Marisol agreed. _Wow, it was more likely that pigs could fly than those two actually agreeing. Blimey._

“Okay, here we go. Number one, I’ve won an award for my buttercream. Number two, I used to sing in a punk band.” Bobby said. _There isn’t such a thing as an award for buttercream. That’s the lie, right there._

“Really? What was the band called?” Gary asked. 

“Er.. ‘Paisley Cuddle’. And number three, I once lasted over three minutes and thirty two seconds on a mechanical bull.” Bobby finished off.

“The buttercream could be true. Bobby does pastry as a hobby.” Lottie pointed out. 

“But he does catering full-time, so.” Rocco said, looking sceptical.

“Are you throwing shade, Rocco? You cook in a truck!” Lottie said, raising her eyebrows at him. _She has a point._

“And why not? I just find being in the van and being able to travel so much more free. You wouldn’t catch me in the same place every day. I tried to live that way but it wasn’t for me. And anyway, street food is an art unto itself.” Rocco explained.

“So is pastry!” Lottie said, glaring at him. _Uh oh, is another argument brewing here? Not again._

“It’s all just different kinds of delicious, isn’t it?” Hannah pointed out, trying to prevent an argument.

“Hannah is as correct as she is cute.” Rocco said, giving Hannah a smile. _He’s flirting, again. Lottie won’t like that._

“Are you flirting again?!” Lottie stared daggers at him.

“I hardly realised I was doing it.” Rocco said. _Wow. People say you disappear often, but at least you’re not that oblivious. If he’s not oblivious, that makes it even worse, if he has full awareness over what he’s doing._

“People, people. The attention’s meant to be on me.” Bobby tried to calm the argument.

“He’s lying about the bull. He wishes!” Gary said.

“‘Paisley Cuddle’ doesn’t sound like a real band to me. That has to be the lie.” Lottie pointed out. _It’s definitely the buttercream._

“I’ve got to go with Rocco here. Bobby never won any buttercream prize.” Alecto confidently replied. This was easy to do as all of them, apart from Marisol, were so easy to read.

“There’s no such thing as a buttercream prize!” Rocco pointed out. _Exactly! He’s very right, for once._

“Though it pains me to say it, Rocco’s right. I wish there _was_ a buttercream prize. But until there’s an opportunity in my area, I remain buttercream prize-less.” Bobby said. _Yes! 4 right so far. You’re on a roll._

“That’s tragic, and I mean that sincerely, man. I hope you get a chance someday to share your buttercream gifts with the world.” Rocco said.

“Thank you, man.” Bobby replied. 

“Three and a half minutes? Really?” Gary was sceptical of the mechanical bull.

“Scout’s honour.” Bobby said.

“Wow. I’d love to see that.” Marisol said, flirting with him. _She didn’t even guess for his one, but got grumpy when he wouldn’t try with her one. That’s a puzzle and a half._

“Wouldn’t you just?” Bobby flirted back. _Maybe those two are a pretty good match, after all._

“Perhaps one day.” Marisol replied.

The flirty exchange is interrupted by a text chime.

The next Islander up is Priya!

“Me? All right..” Everyone watches Priya as she tilts her head back thoughtfully. “How about this? I’ve won a spelling bee… I’ve been a professional model...and I’ve been caught shoplifting.” She said.

“Oh, please. Everyone has shoplifted.” Lottie said. _Yup, guilty! You’ve stolen 3 books from 3 separate libraries so that counts. Most people steal smaller things, like gum or something though._

“Huh? I haven’t.” Hannah said. _Hardly surprising. She’s not the type._

“No, me neither.” Hope said. _Okay, has literally everyone else not done it? There must be more people!_

“I don’t think I have either.” Marisol said. _Either you have or you haven’t. Unless you can’t remember anything for toffee, you’ve had to act as the brain for others multiple times._

“You don’t think?” Ibrahim questioned her.

“If I did, I forgot. Anything’s possible.” Marisol looked shifty. _She could be lying. She’s hard to read, so you don’t know for sure._

“She probably won the spelling bee. I can see her being a real teacher’s pet.” Lottie pointed out.

“I can see Priya being a professional model, actually.” Gary said. _She’s drop dead gorgeous so that’s understandable. You’re not exactly that pretty, not to mention the fact models have to be tall which you aren’t._

“Really?” Alecto questioned, her voice softer than before, eyeing him carefully. _Priya did say she was into him after all, so you might have competition._

“She’s the right type for that.” Gary explained.

“Aw, how sweet!” Priya said, giving him a genuine smile. Alecto felt her stomach twist a little bit. _Is that nerves, jealousy or something else? She’s definitely gorgeous so it won’t hurt to tell her the truth._

“Priya’s stunning. There’s no point in denying it.” Alecto said, giving Priya a smile, and letting some of the confidence come back into her voice.

“That’s so lovely of you, Alecto.” Priya said, surprisingly looking downcast. _Hmm. What’s that about? Don’t spend too much time overthinking, that won’t do you any good._

“Can we please pick Priya’s lie and move on?” Lottie snapped. Alecto was unsure what caused it, until Lottie slid an arm around her shoulders. Without her even realising, Lottie had moved to be beside her. _Wow. She must’ve picked up when your voice altered slightly._ She leaned into Lottie’s arm.

“It’s between modelling, shoplifting and winning a spelling bee. I’d go with shoplifting.” Lottie said. _A lot of people have shoplifted. This one isn’t that obvious. But you can’t break your streak._

“I’m going to guess spelling bee. Pretty girls don’t do spelling bees.” Rocco said. _What utter bullshit! Someone’s physical appearance doesn’t determine how smart they are, or you’d be not very smart at all. You didn’t luck out in the looks department after all._

“That is absolute nonsense!” Hannah snapped, glaring at Rocco. 

“Modeling isn’t just looks, it’s poise, too. I’ll go with that.” Hope pointed out. _Wait. Did she stick up for you also? Wow._

Hope casts Priya a challenging look, but Priya’s expression doesn’t reveal much.

_Just guess, go with your instincts._

“I think the spelling bee is the lie.” Alecto said, keeping her words short and to the point. Being the lead guesser in this game was very draining, she wanted to let herself fade into the background.

“You’ll see. I’m right.” Rocco said, using what Alecto could only describe as an I told you so’ tone. 

“But not because of what she looks like!” Hannah replied, glaring at Rocco.

Rocco does a conciliatory shrug. Priya giggles to herself.

“I did model professionally a few years ago. But I quit because it made me anxious. I’m not that comfortable in front of cameras, I guess.” Priya explained.

_Now it’s between the spelling bee and shoplifting. If you get this one, that’ll be 5 in a row!_

“So you came on Love Island?” Bobby said. _He has a point. The same could be said for you, though._

“I’m a sucker for punishment! Speaking of which, when I was about five years old I took a stuffed octopus from the aquarium gift shop. I just really wanted it. My parents made me go and take it back, and I had to apologise to the manager!” Priya buries her face in her hands. “I still feel two foot tall when I look back on it!” 

“So I was right. You never did a spelling bee.” Rocco said, looking happy he got that right.

“I did, but I didn’t win.” Priya explained, still looking downcast after the octopus story.

“Oh, that’s terrible.” Hannah touches Priya’s shoulder consolingly.

“I came in second.” Priya said.

“I guess that’s good, then.” Hannah primly folds her hands in her lap.

A text chime breaks the moment of silence.

The last Islander up is Alecto!

“It’s my turn. Hmm. I have a black cat called Sadie, I can speak 4 languages fluently and I spend my summers in Canada to visit family. And there you go!” She finished, making her expression blank and being certain to give no obvious clues. _Let’s see if you manage to catch someone out. You’ve made it seemingly easy, but let’s see._

Gary looks thoughtfully at her, and then smiles.

“I feel like I know Alecto fairly well already.” Gary said. 

“This is a good chance for me to see what kind of couple you two are.” Priya said thoughtfully. _Now she’s trying to test our couple. Oh great._

“Oh, I see how it is, Priya! Hmm…Alecto doesn’t have a noticeable accent. I don’t think she’s Canadian.” Gary said. _Okay. He got fooled. Oh great._

“Yeah, that makes sense.” Priya said, tapping her chin thoughtfully.

“I wonder if Alecto actually has a cat called Sadie? As we’d likely have heard by now if she had a cat.” Gary said. _Maybe that would be true regarding the rest of them as some of you lot don’t shut up. You on the other hand, you’ve barely spoken to any of them. So they likely have no clue._

Alecto notices Marisol watching her thoughtfully. _If anyone gets this it might be her._

“I love cats! It would be amazing if you had one Alecto, please be true! It’s not likely that she’d lie about having a cat.” Hannah pointed out.

“That’s true, but what if she actually is lying?” Priya said, giving nothing obvious away.

“She might speak multiple languages, but not necessarily 4.” Marisol said. _That’s the first person to possibly have it! Like you said!_

“That is a good point.” Priya said. 

“What do you say, Priya? Which one’s the lie?” Gary asked, looking stuck. _He has no clue, does he? Great._

“I was going to ask you! You’re in a couple!” Priya pointed out. 

“But Alecto’s could all be true. I’m thrown.” Gary said.

Priya smiles at Gary, and then shrugs.

“Okay, then. I’m just going to guess that she doesn’t speak 4 languages fluently.” Priya said. _She got it!_

“I agree. I could see her speaking two or three, but 4 seems too many.” Marisol said thoughtfully, her lips curling upwards into a smile and making eye contact with Alecto. _Yep, she definitely wasn’t fooled. She’s good at this, like you._

“Really? I wasn’t so sure about that one…” Gary said, looking perplexed. 

“Priya and Marisol are right. Apart from English, I only speak 2 more languages: Welsh and French. I’m half Welsh and half Canadian.” She explained, her voice becoming quieter and slightly shaky as she spoke. She was disappointed in Gary: what if they weren’t compatible after all, and Priya could just jump in and steal him? She pushed her glasses up her nose, messed with the bracelet on her wrist and stared at the floor beneath her to ground herself. _It would be nice if you could just disappear right now. Let the ground swallow you up. Maybe that would hurt less than whatever this is._

“Yes!” Priya pumps her arm and then high-fives Gary multiple times, with both hands. _She really didn’t even notice anything was wrong. Wow. It might be you and your anxiety inflating stuff again._

“I think that’s the end of the game.” Marisol said.

“I didn’t have to answer anything!” Rahim said, sounding surprised.

“Sorry, Ibrahim.” Marisol said.

“No, I’m good, I didn’t want to!” He said. _Lucky! You wish that could be the same for you._ “I can’t believe Alecto guessed everyone’s lie.” Ibrahim gave her a smile as she looked up from the ground. He appeared to be trying to cheer her up, which actually was working.

“She’s really perceptive.” Gary agreed.

“What can I say? I guess I’m just that good at reading people.” Her voice remained soft and shaky, her energy wasn’t enough for her to replace her mask of confidence. She felt Marisol give her hand a gentle squeeze, and noticed she had replaced Lottie at her side. She leaned her head against Marisol’s shoulder, the other girl’s presence helped. Something about it was like a warm blanket, comforting and calming. 

An uneasy vibe hangs over the Islanders in the wake of the game. Cracks are apparent in the group now. Noah and Hannah both appear quiet, and disappear off together. Hope and Ibrahim struggle to make small talk and Lottie sits off on her own. The only couple that appears steady after the challenge are Marisol and Bobby.

The silence is broken by a text chime.

“I got a text!” Alecto calls out, forcing a fake cheery tone to her voice. “Islanders, the time has come for Priya to choose which boy she wants to couple up with. All Islanders must now gather at the firepit.”

All around the firepit, the Islanders are gathered in their couples. The mood feels subdued and anxious. Hope’s expression is grim. She and Ibrahim are clutching hands. Marisol and Bobby are whispering animatedly to one another, but Alecto can’t hear them over the ringing in her ears, and her non stop thoughts. Gary reaches for her hand. His fingers slip reassuringly between hers.

“If she picks me, we can still end up together again. I don’t have to share a bed with her. We can pick each other next chance we get.” He whispered in her ear.

“I hope it doesn’t come to that.” Alecto heard the sound of a door opening, and all the Islanders turned in unison.

“Here she comes.” Lottie said.

Priya makes a dramatic entrance in a shiny silver sheath dress with a plunging neckline. Her beautiful, expensive-looking high heels tap ominously on the garden path. Alecto thinks she hears one of the Islanders properly gasp out loud as Priya takes her position at the firepit, facing all the Islanders.

“I never thought I’d be here in this position…” she trailed off.

“What position? Standing, giving a speech?” Bobby said, trying his best to lighten the dark cloud hanging over the group.

“Shh!” Hope glared at him.

“I want to thank everyone for being so welcoming when I entered the villa. It wasn’t easy coming in as the new girl and having to catch up. Everyone has been so lovely, which made it even harder to make my decision. But I came to the villa to find love, so… even though someone might end up upset, I have to go with my heart. Alecto, you’re a cool person, and so are you, Hannah and Hope. I really like everyone here, pretty much. This is really hard! So that’s why…” silence descends around the firepit. “The boy I want to couple up with tonight is…” Hope squeezes Ibrahim’s hand even more tightly and closes her eyes. “Gary.” Priya finished. 

All eyes are suddenly on Alecto.

“It...it’s totally cool. You and Gary… make a nice couple. I’m happy for you.” Her voice was shaky, and she tried to remain cool. She didn’t want to break down right now, that could wait until she was alone. She stared at the ground, finding it hard to keep eye contact with Priya. _You saw this coming, but that doesn’t mean it hurts any less._

“This’ll take some time to get used to.” Gary rises from his place at the firepit to go and stand at Priya’s side. She takes his hand. 


	6. Chapter 6

The dressing room is strewn with clothes as the girls get themselves ready for the evening. The air is thick with spray and face powder. The smell of kiwi is almost overpowering.

Alecto put her hair into a side braid. The hot weather was causing her hair to stick to her neck.

Hannah lowers a mascara brush and locks eyes with Alecto in the mirror.

“Talk about a plot twist! I was, like, so sure Priya was gonna go for Noah.” Hannah said. _Priya barely mentioned Noah. Also he seemed to only have eyes for Hannah. She might be trying to cheer you up though, in her own way. It’s not exactly working but her heart’s in the right place._

“She shouldn’t have gone for anyone, as far as I’m concerned.” Lottie said, giving Alecto a concerned look, and moving to stand next to her. She gave her hand a squeeze.

Hope steps back from the wardrobe holding two different sets of clothes. She scoots past the girls and holds each item up in front of her in turn, checking her reflection.

“That’s not how it works, babes. She had to choose someone. It’s just a shame it had to be someone as sweet as Alecto.” Hope smiled at Alecto. _She has changed her tune after all, then. Okay, that’s positive for sure._

“Yeah, we’re all sunshine and rainbows as long as nobody’s taking Ibrahim, right Hope?” Lottie said, her words dripping in sarcasm. _Seriously. She dog piles on Hope, when Hannah and Marisol are the ones in the strongest couples realistically. That doesn’t have logic at all. You do appreciate her caring about you, but her tendency of lashing out easily is a bit tiring._

Hope scowls and opens her mouth to talk, but Hannah cuts her off.

“Surely what really matters right now is how Alecto feels, right? She’s, like, the protagonist of the whole situation!” Hannah turns to Alecto with an expectant look. “Priya’s not around at the moment…How do you really feel? Like, really really feel?” Hannah looked at her with hands clasped together.

“I’m not exactly going to cry about it. If she wants him, she can have him. What’s done is done.” Alecto replied, feeling her voice settle into the mask of confidence again. She was still rather fragile, so she wasn’t too sure whether her mask of confidence would last long. 

“That’s the spirit, Alecto! I won’t be having any tears while I’m around.” Hope gave her a warm smile.

Marisol grabs a can of hairspray. She holds it at arm’s length, pouting slightly and shielding her face as she sprays.

“Yeah, you can’t really get upset about someone being true to themselves, especially at this stage of the game. You want what you want. Saying or doing otherwise to protect other people doesn’t change that. And your subconscious will always find a way to get it anyway, so you might as well be upfront. That’s why people sleepwalk. Their sleeping mind is taking them where their waking mind won’t let them go.” Marisol explained. _That does have some truth to it. You don’t fully agree, but it’s certainly a better philosophy than Lottie’s Girl Code obsession._

“Um…” Alecto said, biting her lip as she tried to work out how to respond. Her mind was blank, so she gave up.

“That’s why I always wake up in stationery cupboards.” Marisol finished off.

_Okay, she sleepwalks then. But every night she finds herself in a stationery cupboard? How does that work in the Villa then? Also is she suggesting we sleepwalk into things we want?_

The girls all turn to look at Marisol with confused expressions. She smiles, seemingly with no intention of explaining.

“That makes sense.” Alecto said, watching Marisol carefully. Marisol’s weird theory was giving enough of a distraction to her, so that was useful.

“It’s basic psychology, babes.” Marisol explained. 

“Yeah...No. I’m not sure about any of this ‘true to yourself’ stuff. Do you mean people should just follow their subconscious without question? That sounds selfish.” Lottie replied, raising an eyebrow at the theory. _She does have a point. Which is why you don’t fully agree with the theory._

“Yeah. Heroes make sacrifices for the good of others.” Hannah agreed.

Marisol perched on the vanity table, eager to explain.

“I’m not saying we should be selfish. I’m saying, _be fierce._ You should keep that in mind now that you’re the one who’s single, Alecto. You’ll have to take one of our men if you don’t want to get dumped.” Marisol pointed out. _Ouch, that’s a little harsh. She does have a point, but you were starting to forget about your situation. Now there’s a chance your mask will crack, again._

Every face in the room turns to watch Alecto’s response. Her chin starts to wobble, her eyes prickling with tears. She tries her best not to let them fall and ruin her foundation, but they burn behind her eyes. The effort of keeping strong is too much for her, and it doesn’t work. She removed her glasses, placing them on the vanity table to prevent tear tracks appearing on the lenses. 

“Oh babe!” Hope puts her arm around Alecto’s shoulders.

The girls crowd around her -all except for Marisol, who starts pacing the room back and forth. _Do you think she’s picked up that her comment is part of the reason this happened, and is guilty? Or does she just struggle with emotions?_

She feels the tears roll down her cheeks, it’s a relief to finally let them go. Since the end of the challenge, she’s felt herself beginning to crack, keeping strong only works for so long, eventually she’ll shatter into tiny pieces.

Hope hands her a tissue and she blows her nose and wipes her eyes, trying to prevent the flood of tears.

“I’m...I’m sorry, I wouldn’t...normally get like this. I just can’t stand thinking that my summer could be over already. We only just got here! But I don’t want to hurt you guys in order to stay, either…I did say earlier that I wasn’t going to cry about it, but I can only remain strong for so long until I crack. This has been a long time coming.” Her voice was shaky and nearly inaudible, trying to focus enough to speak was difficult, especially when her head was no longer clear. 

Hannah leans over and whispers to Lottie. “I thought she said she wasn’t going to cry about it?” _You addressed that. Was she even listening, or were you too quiet? It wasn’t the first time that was the case. It’s not high school anymore, we have no need for playground whispers, or so you hope._

She leans into Hope,feeling the other girl’s arm loosely around her shoulders. She had judged her far too quickly, she noticed, the other girl was far kinder than she had originally thought. Hannah and Lottie were becoming quite the twosome, and there would hardly be room for her there. Hope and Marisol were actually her best bet in terms of friendship.

Marisol grabs a tube of cherry lip gloss from the side and starts tapping it against her chin in thought. Alecto was relieved that it wasn’t making any noise, she couldn’t stand repetitive loud noises. _It’s clearly a nervous reaction, emotions are not likely her strong suit, which is fine. You have enough emotions for pretty much the entire group._

Hope moved her arm, staying beside her with tissues ready. Marisol cautiously places a hand on her shoulder, like she was a skittish animal. Alecto looked up from the spot on the floor she had been focusing on, and made eye contact with Marisol, noticing how the other girl looked concerned. For a little bit, she wasn’t too difficult to read in terms of emotions.

“It’s hard to accept that someone’s going to get hurt, but you have to be prepared for that. Someone’s toes have to get stepped on.” Marisol said, her voice softer than usual, clearly trying to keep Alecto calm. She took a deep breath in, trying to regulate her breathing. Thankfully her tears had mostly stopped, one eye still had persistent tears coming from it. Once she had released the tidal wave, it was hard to stop the tears entirely. 

“Why does it always come back to toes? You’re as bad as Bobby.” Hannah protested, glaring at Marisol. _She really has a big toe phobia, huh? Also Marisol’s coupled up with Bobby, of course she’s a little similar to him. That’s how it sometimes works out, anyway._

“There’s always a chance we’ll get some new boys, of course, but it seems a bit soon when Priya’s only just arrived.” Marisol said, squeezing her hand. Being so close to the other girl helped with calming her down by a considerable amount. Marisol appeared to have a calming energy surrounding her, one that she didn’t find in anyone else, even Gary. She felt the spark inside her glow gently, there was definitely a form of spark around. Soulmate sparks were rare, they only appeared when you found your person for real. If you cared for someone, a small spark would develop, but it would only go further if they were your soulmate. Alecto’s left palm felt warm from both the spark and Marisol’s hand in hers, she felt a little flicker of light, like electrical charge. 

Hope glances out the window.

“You girls ready?” She asked. She quickly helped Alecto fix her makeup and handed her the rest of the tissues.

Alecto followed the girls out of the room, walking in single file.

Night has fallen over the Villa. Music rolls out of the speakers as the Islanders chat amongst themselves.

Alecto took a seat on the swing bed and let her eyes drift across the group, waiting for someone to approach her. She spied Gary hanging out in a group with the other boys. He saw her, too, and walked over to where she’s sitting.

“Alright, Alecto? Grafting hard?” He asked.

“I come in friendship.” She said, watching him carefully.

He furrows his brow in confusion. 

“You know, like aliens? ‘I come in peace’?” Alecto explained, her cheeks flushing. _Your jokes aren’t that great, you know._

“Oh,right. Yeah. Tell you what though...we don’t know each other yet, but...I’d be well chuffed to end up with a fittie like you.” Gary explained. _What about Priya? That’s why you’re laying low here._

“What about Priya?” She asked.

Gary glances over to Priya.

“What about her? It’s just how things work in here.” He looked disappointed, and folded his arms across his chest. He sighed.

“Alright, let’s chat. I get you’re probably annoyed about Priya. How do you feel about it all now?” Gary said. _About time he picked that up! Wow. You can’t stay in a mood with him forever though._

“I still want us to work.” She said, keeping her sentences short.

“Yeah? I’d say you’re my cup of tea. It’s still early days though. We should get to know each other better.” Gary moves closer to her. The warm, summer breeze billows his shirt, revealing a glimpse of his toned abdomen. There’s a tension between both of them, like two magnets being held apart. There’s a sound just behind her, like someone clearing their throat. Alecto turns around.

Priya raises her eyebrows.

_How long has she been standing there?_

“Can I get you guys anything? Some snacks? A condom?” Priya grins. “Don’t look so guilty. It’s why we’re all here, isn’t it? To flirt?” _That was a little unexpected. You were fully prepared for her to get annoyed, but it’s a relief she didn’t._

“We were just finishing up.” Gary explained. Priya kisses him lightly on the cheek before walking away and disappearing inside the Villa. A moment passes. Gary shoots Alecto an apologetic look.

“I’d better go find where she’s gone off to.” He walks away, glancing over his shoulder at her as he leaves.

Alecto catches Noah looking briefly Hannah-less, shifting from foot to foot and sending panicked glances back towards the Villa. He sees her on her own and walks over, seemingly relieved for the company. At first, neither of them spoke.The silence is a welcome change for her, she values alone time and being able to have a comfortable silence with someone. Dealing with someone chatting to her constantly as they’re scared of the quiet is difficult for her. 

“You look a little lost. Guess it’s not often I find you on your own. So are you guys a package deal now or what?” She asked, fiddling with the ends of her hair.

Noah considers her words. For a while, it seems like he won’t reply at all. To meet someone as quiet as she was here was definitely welcome, it was a refreshing change compared to the loudness of the others.

“If I have anything in life, it should be hope.” _Hmm. Cryptic or what? The mystery does draw you in a little bit, but you don’t want to get involved in the Hope/Hannah/Noah mess._

“Way to avoid the question, Mr Serious.” She said, trying for a joke, which fell flat as Noah didn’t respond. _You really don’t have a future in comedy._

They stared at each other. She’s all but given up on the conversation when he opens his mouth.

“You look uncomfortable with the silence.” He said. _It’s not so much the silence, more like trying to force a conversation that you’re uncomfortable with. The silence is actually pleasant._

“Nah, I’m fine with it. It’s a refreshing change to the loud energy in general of this place. I don’t usually meet people who are quieter than me, so I like that.” She explained, hoping he wouldn’t take offence.

“That’s good. Sitting in silence with someone is an act of closeness. You should embrace it.” He closes his eyes, visibly enjoying the cool breeze against his skin.

She felt herself release from part of the mask of confidence, and let go a little. Being able to think more about her words was something she benefited from.

“Tell me something I don’t know about you.” She said, Noah definitely interested her to some extent, maybe it was the mysterious aura he gave off.

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me. I run a Sunday reading class for kids at the library where I work. The kids pick a book and I read it to them. I do all the voices, too. Act everything out. How’s that for a fact?” He crosses his arms and looks at her. He blushes. It looks as though he might move towards her...Noah’s eyes wander. She follows his gaze to see Hannah walking over to both of them. Hannah stops beside Noah and winds a hand around his waist.

“I’m not interrupting anything, am I?” She scowled at Alecto. Her whole body seems rigid as she winds her arm around Noah’s waist.

“No need to make a scene about it, babe. Alecto was on her own, so I thought I’d keep her company.” Noah explained. Hannah glances back to the Villa. The other Islanders are making their way inside.

“Looks like the party’s moving inside. Join me for a drink?” To Alecto’s relief, Hannah appeared to drop it quickly. Noah turns to Alecto and shrugs. 

“Another time, Alecto. Let’s head inside to find the others.” He walks away, glancing over his shoulder at her as he leaves.

A thought dawns on her. It would be best that she stayed outside on the daybeds, due to Gary and Priya being together now. She gazes wistfully at the bedroom door. She can see shadows of the other Islanders in the room getting ready for bed.

She went inside and got ready for bed, setting her hair free from the braid. She ran her fingers through it to let it fall naturally. 

She’s just getting comfortable on the daybed when she hears a patter of feet approaching from the Villa. She looks up to see Lottie coming in her direction.

Lottie sits down. 

“Thought I’d come out here and keep you company for the night.” She explained. _Aww, that’s so nice. It’s a little bit of a surprise, she did seem close with Hannah earlier._

“Doesn’t Rocco mind?” Alecto asked. She wanted to check first, after the reaction she had from Hannah earlier.

“If he doesn’t like it, he can get a grip. My girls come first. Always. Surely those boys can stand to be alone for one night.” Lottie nestles into the sheets beside her, peeking out above the blanket with her hair splayed out over the pillow.

Lottie’s fingers brush through Alecto’s hair, separating out a strand to plait while they talk.

“You know, it’s funny...I grew up in Melbourne within easy distance of Willy Beach.”

“Willy...Beach?” Alecto asked to clarify.

“Oh! Williamstown Beach. Sorry, that’s just what we call it.” Lottie explained.

“I was well confused. So, not Bondi Beach?” She asked. _Your geography skills do suck, which is the nicest way of putting it._

“Um, well for starters Bondi Beach is in Sydney, not Melbourne. And secondly, Bondi is just for tourists. No Aussie actually goes there. Seriously, you go there one day and you won’t hear a single Australian accent. There are way better beaches that only the locals know about. Like Coogee! That’s my favourite. I love Melbourne, but its beaches can’t compete with Sydney’s. And ever since moving to the UK, I’ve missed having easy access to a beach. I mean, you guys have things that resemble a beach, but nothing like Coogee or Willy. I’d spend hours in the water. Messing around with my friends, getting piggybacks from boyfriends, and just swimming. It was so...freeing. I was in incredible shape. Never needed to use a gym, or go on dull runs. I just got fit from having fun.” Lottie looks over at Alecto, then down at her arm. For the first time this day, Alecto was finally distracted from the situation. She enjoyed hearing other people telling stories, she was never the type to enjoy talking about herself.

“I was also never this pale. I’m like a sheet of white paper now.” She tilts her head up and bites her lip.

“Although, I think I prefer that...Anyway, I go back to Australia so rarely that I’ve eventually just got used to not having access to things like amazing beaches, or...well,sunshine? But being out here in this place, spending the days lounging in the heat? It’s making me a little homesick?” Lottie explained. _You do understand, in a way, as you spend most of your time in the UK, and only spend your summers in Canada. For you, you technically have two homes so don’t get as homesick._

Alecto nodded. “My geography is pretty dreadful, I even get confused regarding different parts of the UK. So any different country causes even more confusion. I understand. I only spend summers in Toronto these days, while spending the rest of my time in the UK. I don’t have the money to go back regularly so I save up to go back for a little while in the summer. I couldn’t do that this year of course, so I’m slightly missing it. Why did you move to the UK then?” She leaned on her hand, focusing on Lottie beside her. She was aware this was the most she had ever spoken recently, but she felt comfortable enough with Lottie that she was less self conscious and would talk to her without hesitation.

“Would you believe me if I said Australia became too crowded?” Lottie asked. Somewhere becoming too crowded wasn’t usually a problem for Alecto, she knew of a lot of quiet spots to go if she was feeling overwhelmed. She never deliberately moved towards crowds if she had another option.

“Somehow..no.” Alecto said.

“Yeah, didn’t think so. I had a bit too much history with one-too-many-exes. It got to the point where going anywhere meant I’d bump into one of them. I wanted to get away and see more of the world. Several years later...I’m still there. But listen to me ramble on, I sound so ‘oh woe is me, I used to live on one of the most gorgeous beaches in the world.’ You’re probably really jealous.” Lottie explained. _Makes sense. You deliberately chose a uni in a separate city to get away from Étienne. That wasn’t the whole reason, but yeah._

“Umm...yeah. I love the sound and smell of water, so I do try to visit beaches regularly. Water is useful for calming me down, a pool isn’t the same at all.” She said.

“Knew it. Don’t worry, it’s only natural. I enjoyed this chat, Alecto. Thanks for listening.” Lottie said, smirking at her. _She’s definitely good at reading you, which does take a lot._

Lottie goes silent. Alecto turns over to check on her. She’s deep in thought, almost conflicted. Her brow is furrowed, lips pressed together.

“What’s wrong?” Alecto was concerned about her, the change in expression happened quickly.

“I’m...I’m trying to figure out if it’s _my place_ to tell you about...stuff.” She said, her voice softer than usual, with a frown on her face.

“What stuff?” Alecto was a little confused. _Unless it was about Priya and Gary? That would make sense._

Lottie gestures to the bedroom window.

“Priya and Gary.” She gives Alecto a knowing look. “I _could_ tell you…”

Alecto bit her lip. Part of her was interested but the rest of her really didn’t want to know. She was rather conflicted herself.

“I...I don’t need to know.” She said, not making eye contact with Lottie. Her voice was unexpectedly shaky again, and she did feel tears in the back of her eyes.

Lottie seems a little surprised.

“Are you sure? Maybe it’s my toxic side, but I think I’d want to know if…” she trails off, biting her lip. “I can still say if you’d like me to. It might make you feel a little better, I know today has been difficult for you.” Lottie squeezed Alecto’s hand under the covers.

“I changed my mind, tell me everything. I’d prefer to know.” She said.

Lottie grins at her.

“I thought you’d want to know. I know I definitely would.” She sits up, scrunching the sheets around her.

“First things first, Priya has a killer wardrobe. She’s got this sexy silk cami and kimono ensemble.” Lottie started off.

“She’s wearing sexy lingerie?! Why are you telling me this?” Her voice went small and quiet. It was a job to prevent it from wobbling, and she squeezed her hand into a tight fist.

“Thought you might want to know about the competition. You know, being the queen of fashion.” Lottie said, giving her a smile.

“Aww, thanks babes.” She replied, returning the smile.

“But get this, even though she was looking super sexy, nothing happened.” Lottie said. _Huh. Maybe Gary is loyal then?_

“Maybe Gary isn’t that into her?” Alecto said. A small flower of hope appeared in her chest

“Babe, she is ridiculously hot. I’m into her.” Lottie said. _Um, and you. Priya’s stunning, which was partly why you have been so worried._

“So what are you saying? She’s not into him?” She asked for clarification.

“No! That’s the best bit. She actually fancies the pants off him.” _Really? She had to go there, didn’t she?_

“How is that the best bit?!” Alecto asked, a little spark of anger appearing.

“Let me finish a sentence!” Lottie replied, glaring at her. _She does have a point!_

“Sorry…” She fell silent, holding a finger to her lips to prove that she intended on waiting.

“I heard her chatting to Noah and telling him that she thought Gary was a bit of her. But she was torn because of how lovely you were. And she didn’t think it was right to be cracking on with your man. Even if he is really, really fit.” Lottie explained. _Wow. That’s a surprise._

“She really said that?” She asked.

“She said Gary was fit like, a hundred times.” Lottie said.

“Not that, the bit about me.” Alecto clarified.

“Yeah, she said she thought you were a friend and she doesn’t do that to her friends. She’s right. You are lovely. And a good friend.” Lottie said.

“Thanks babe. So are you.” Alecto gives Lottie a big hug. “This has made me feel loads better.” She felt the warmth come back into her voice. 

Crickets chirp as you both sit peacefully enjoying the warm night.

“So she’s in there right now in sexy lingerie…” Alecto trailed off.

“Trust me, they were doing nada. They’re keeping it really PG tonight. I didn’t even see them kiss.” _It’s a good thing you were nice to her and didn’t let your jealousy get to your head._

“How does it feel when you think about them hooking up? It must have crossed your mind.” Lottie asked.

“I don’t really mind. I’m over it.” She said, forcing a little confidence back into her words.

“Really? I don’t know if I could sleep easy knowing my ex was hooking up with someone else in the next bed!” Lottie studied Alecto carefully. _She might have you rumbled there!_

Lottie sighed.

“You can tell me the truth, you know. You don’t have to put up the mask you usually have around the others, I can see through it. Your words won’t go anywhere, my lips are sealed, promise.” Lottie said, watching her with a furrowed brow.

“It does bother me, actually. I’m used to people not caring and being able to fool everyone into thinking I’m okay, so having someone care enough to see past the mask is a surprise. I’m trying to avoid thinking about it, though. Spending my life in a constant stream of what ifs is hardly useful and only provokes my anxiety.” Alecto explained, her voice softer. Lottie nodded. 

“Hey, I know today was pretty rough for you. Tomorrow will be better. I promise.” Lottie gave her a smile.


	7. Chapter 7

Alecto wakes up on the daybeds, where she spent the night. Lottie is no longer with her. _She’s probably gone back to Rocco. She does snore rather loudly, it’s lucky you were able to sleep through most of it._

A delicious scent wafts over from the kitchen.

_Mmm, food. You should probably get dressed first though._

She walked into the dressing room, choosing a bikini at random, wearing a bracelet to cover her soulmate words and putting her hair in its signature side braid. She couldn’t stand having it stick to her.

She finds Hannah and Marisol bustling about in the kitchen. There’s steam coming off the frying pan in front of Marisol. Hannah’s mashing avocados with a fork.

“So really, Bill’s character was like Hemingway’s version of Priya.” Hannah said, a wide grin on her face. _She looks like she’s in her element, discussing books. Or that’s what you presume is being discussed there._

“Wait, which one was Bill again?” Marisol asked, looking lost.

“I literally just told you! It’s like you weren’t even listening to anything I just said.” Hannah snapped, looking disappointed. _She’s probably not used to people ignoring her or not fully focusing on what she’s saying. Where’s Noah, anyway? They’re supposed to be a ‘power couple’, after all._

“Sorry, babes, just multitasking. But fiction isn’t really my thing. More of a true crime girl.” Marisol explained. _Fair enough. You read pretty much anything yourself, but people are allowed to have a preference._

“There’s nothing wrong with fiction! Just because it’s made up doesn’t make it childish!” Hannah appeared to get even more annoyed by the minute, scrunching up her mouth and sending Marisol a petulant glare. _She didn’t even say that! Blimey, Hannah’s trying to pick a fight this morning. You should really intervene, poor Marisol to be stuck in this conversation._

“I never said…” Marisol started off, before being cut off by Hannah, again. _How rude. Jeez Louise._

“It’s not all glittery vampires, you know.” Hannah protested. _She sure gets uptight about literature and lashes out at people for having a contrasting opinion. That’s not good. You should really break in here, to help out Marisol a bit._

“I love fiction.” Alecto said, giving them a small smile.

The girls turn at the sound of her voice. Hannah’s face lights up, while Marisol looks relieved at the interruption. 

“I had no idea you were into books, Alecto. We should, totally, like, swap our top ten lists sometime. Or maybe you could read my memoirs once I’m done writing them?” Hannah looked elated. _That seemed to have cheered her up._

She takes the opportunity to make a cup of tea while Hannah and Marisol busy themselves around her.

She wanders over to Marisol and peers over her shoulder. She grins as Alecto approaches. _Wow, that looks amazing! That must be the source of the amazing smell from earlier._

“What’s cookin’, good lookin’?” She asks, her lips forming a flirty smile. _Back with the cheesy jokes and lines, then? Oh well, it’s part of your personality now, clearly._

Marisol’s cheeks redden, a small smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

“I’m making tortilla de patatas. A Spanish omelette.” She explained.

Alecto looked at the frying pan.

“That’s a lot of patatas for one person!” Alecto replied, watching her carefully. _Is there some sneaky grafting going on here? Or is it you being overly suspicious again?_

Marisol hesitates, glancing between Alecto and Hannah. _Hmm. She does seem slightly shifty now. Your suspicions might be right._

“I was actually gonna give the other half to Gary.” She replied carefully. 

Hannah spins around to look at them with a frown. The girls stare at one another.

“Wait...You were cooking for Gary this whole time? But _I_ was cooking for Gary!” Hannah stares down at her avocados. _What about Noah? Is she just forgetting him entirely? You should say something, but you don’t particularly want to cause drama._

“Now I don’t know what to do. I really felt like this was my one chance to win him over.” Hannah looked disappointed. _To top it off, Gary is your ex in the first place here. Marisol you can understand more than Hannah, that’s not the issue here._

“Gary doesn’t like you, Hannah. And honestly, he doesn’t seem like an avocado kind of guy to me. Also, what about Noah? Are you forgetting about him entirely, despite being so close to him for the past two days? It seems a little suspicious to me.” Alecto replied, her words having a slight icy tone, and giving Hannah a hard look. _You’re maybe being both too harsh and too blunt, but she needs to hear it. She can’t string Noah along and expect him to be okay with it._

Hannah’s shoulders slump. She casts her eyes down to the ground, refusing to look or acknowledge Alecto’s statement. Hannah looks down wistfully at the food. 

“Can’t you just give yours to someone else instead, Marisol?” Hannah pleaded with Marisol, entirely ignoring Alecto. _Hmm. She might’ve realised you have a point. But is still continuing to ignore it._

“Everyone’s fair game at this stage, sweetie.” Marisol replied. _Right. Let’s just settle this and take Marisol’s side. Hannah’s doing your head in currently._

“I’m with Marisol on this one.” Alecto replied, watching Hannah carefully. _She’s certain to throw a fit eventually._

“That’s all you’re gonna say? ‘I’m with Marisol’?” Hannah narrows her eyes.

“This is so unfair! Who are you to stand in the way of true love?” She protested, stamping her foot in frustration.

“It’s hardly true love, hun. Besides, what about Noah? You were saying he was your true love before, why have you changed your tune?” Marisol pointed out, reiterating Alecto’s earlier point. _Exactly! That’s what you were saying._

“No, but maybe it could be, if…” she trails off, looking sadly down at her avocados. _She ignored what Marisol said about Noah too. Hmm, trouble in paradise?_

“I’m sorry to be so blunt about it, but he’s plainly not into you, and deserve to be with someone who is. I mean, think about it. His feet don’t even point towards you when you talk. In addition, Noah seems to be into you, you shouldn’t give up on that for someone you don’t even know has actually got feelings for you.” Marisol said, looking surprisingly calm. 

Hannah looks between both of them, her hands clenched into little fists at her side.

“I wasn’t hungry anyway.” She scrunched up her face and grabbed her food and scraped it all into the bin on her way out. _Slightly childish,much._

Alecto turns to find Marisol looking at her with a guilty expression.

“Was that too much? Too harsh, I mean. I feel like it was. Likely on both our parts, even though it’s a little odd that she kept dodging our mentions of Noah, and his feelings.” Marisol asked, watching Alecto carefully.

“She needed to hear it. It’s a hard truth, but if she doesn’t learn it soon she’ll find herself getting dumped. It was definitely odd that she appeared to have changed her tune with Noah though. Slightly suspicious. Anyway it’s for her own good, in the end. She can’t expect people to tiptoe around her. Yes, it was too harsh, but it was necessary.” Alecto explained, her eyes darting up to meet Marisol’s. She felt the same warmth, the feeling she had felt previously from the other girl. 

“I’m glad it’s not just me who sees it that way. Although perhaps I could have said it more gently, given how much she seems to like him. She probably thinks I’m a right cow after all this, but I actually really like her. I think she’s sweet, if a little naive. Thanks for stepping in anyway, and for taking my side. We were just going around in circles.” Marisol sighs sadly, twirling some of the ends of her hair around her finger. _This appears to be really eating on her. Unless there’s something more causing this._

“Everything alright?” Alecto asked, her voice becoming softer and moving forward to slide an arm around Marisol’s shoulders. Marisol shook her head, and leant more into Alecto’s arm. The other girl wasn’t much taller than her, so it was surprisingly comfortable.

“I know sometimes I act like I’m just in it for the game, but I do really care about finding the right person. And things with Bobby… aren’t going well.” Marisol explained. _She’s like you,in a way. She does put up a mask as well, you can tell when she lets it go. It’s definitely difficult that she’s not feeling it with Bobby, you do feel for her._

“If you’re not feeling it with Bobby, you have every right to graft around, especially when it’s such early days. You seem more like Gary’s type, anyway.” 

Alecto replied, giving her a warm smile, hoping that would cheer her up a bit. She never liked seeing other people sad, she was one of those people who ended up in tears because someone else started crying. 

“Know what? I think you’re right. I’ll start by giving Gary his breakfast _before_ it gets cold. Good chat, Alecto. Thank you.” Marisol smiled back, giving her a small hug in thanks, then taking the food and sauntering out of the kitchen.

_Wow. Okay, that’s something good then._

Alecto’s cheeks flushed, the hug had taken her by surprise, and Marisol’s presence in general made her feel more warm. _In all the drama, you forgot about your tea! It’s probably cold, which is no big deal as you do drink cold tea._

She grabbed the mug and left the kitchen.

In the gym, Bobby’s walking around and picking up things at random. He’s ignoring Marisol, who’s standing nearby.

“I’m just saying, it’s totally reasonable to be grafting on other guys at this stage in the game. And I expect you to be grafting on the other girls, too.” Marisol looks frustrated, until she sees Alecto and smiles at her.

“Like Alecto here, for example.” Marisol said. _Looks like they’re arguing. You shouldn’t really get involved, but at the same time, you do want to support Marisol in any way you can._

“What’s going on here?” Alecto asked.

Bobby picks up a skipping rope, and completely blanks Marisol.

“Ooh, a skipping rope. You really don’t want to be part of this, Alecto.”Bobby said, a wide grin on his face. He appeared to have a lot of energy, Alecto was exhausted just watching him.

Marisol glares at him and huffs in exasperation.

“Maybe you can help me talk some sense into this guy. We’re _meant_ to be having a serious conversation.” Marisol appeared to be getting more frustrated by the minute, glaring at Bobby with a raised eyebrow and a frown. 

_Another argument? Oh dear. You could always vanish, or try to settle this one. If it was anyone else, you’d have vanished by now already._

“No, _you’re_ trying to have a serious conversation. I’m just standing here trying to do that thing where you think about a word until you don’t recognise it anymore. ‘Grass’, for example. What kind of word is that? Grass. Grahs. Graaaaaaahs.” Bobby explained, looking cheerful despite the argument. _Hmm. Using something ridiculous to distract from the conversation. You definitely see what he’s doing there, but that’s very irritating. You understand why Marisol is so fed up here._

Marisol turns to Alecto and crosses her arms.

“See what I mean?” The expression from earlier is very much back on her face, this is clearly weighing on her. _Okay. The fact Bobby is completely ignoring the conversation for trivial matters is frustrating for you as well. And the fact he won’t keep still!_

“No, let me tell Alecto how it is. Marisol’s trying to explain why it’s a good thing that she was trying to graft on Gary this morning. And why I have no grounds to be upset about it. Basically, she wants me to flirt more with the other girls to make her feel better about flirting with the other guys.” Bobby said, for some reason actually deciding to engage in the conversation this time.

“That’s not true. It’s not about guilt. It’s about accepting the reality of our situation.” Marisol’s words had a clear bite to them, this discussion had clearly been going on for a while. 

Bobby shakes his head, and moves to a clear spot to start skipping with the skipping rope he’d found.

“But apparently Bobby doesn’t care enough about our relationship to bother engaging in the conversation.” Marisol explained, giving Bobby a frosty glare. _He’s definitely being rude, that’s for sure. It’s certainly getting your goat._

“You should listen, Bobby. Communication is so important, especially in the Villa.” Alecto said, watching Bobby with a careful eye. He might be ignoring Marisol, but with any luck she could get through to him herself instead.

Marisol sighs with relief, it looked like a weight had been taken from her shoulders.

“I’m so glad you get it.” Marisol said, giving Alecto a grin back. _Okay, phew. You managed to cheer her up, but you’re not too sure if it had any impact on Bobby._

“I’m not annoyed that Marisol’s _communicating._ I’m annoyed because I don’t care about her grafting on others, and having her try to make it a big thing is irritating, when I.don’t.care! She can do whatever she wants.” Bobby replied, the full force of his glare landing on both Marisol and Alecto. Alecto flinched back, feeling herself take an involuntary step backwards away from him. She met Marisol’s eyes and noticed that she looked concerned.

Bobby went back to his skipping without a second glance.

Marisol sighs, moving closer to Alecto and linking their fingers together. She felt a spark again, and felt herself calm slightly. _Here’s hoping Marisol will drop it. This argument really can’t go on._

“My ex used to shut everybody out because he grew up with this really big family, and he was used to everybody just talking over each other all the time. You have a sister, don’t you, Bobby?” Marisol said, still trying to get through to him.

Bobby dropped the skipping rope on the ground with a clatter.

“Stop trying to analyse me!” He raised his voice. Alecto fiddled with her bracelet, moving backwards again and letting go of Marisol’s hand, hoping she could sneak out before this argument got worse. _This might have been a bad idea to intervene. You live and learn though._

“I’m only trying to understand! You don’t need to get defensive.” Marisol snapped back, letting the frustration of the conversation out.

There’s silence for a moment. Alecto froze, her eyes darting between both of them. Arguments always brought her back to high school, and how she couldn’t do anything at all right in the eyes of Andromeda, who appeared to not understand how her group contained so many awful people and would rather lose her over her group. She twisted her bracelet hard against her wrist, the small pain enough to snap her out of the past. She looked up to notice both of them watching her, both surprisingly with matching looks of concern on their faces. _Great. Look what we have here, some pity. Trust you for being too damn sensitive._

“Um...maybe...maybe it would be good for you guys to get some space from each other? I’m gonna leave you both to it, in any case.” She used the silence as a perfect opportunity to speak, rushing her words in her hurry to leave and feeling her voice waver slightly. Her voice had become quieter since she last spoke, with any luck they still heard her. _This was a very bad idea. You need to listen to your instincts more._

“Could you take Marisol with you? I need to focus. Sorry you got dragged into this, Alecto.” Bobby’s voice returned to normal. _At least one of them apologised._

“Fine, I give up.” Her voice was softer than usual after the argument, she looked upset again, walked over to Alecto and they left together. 

“Are you okay?” Alecto asked, watching her carefully. The mask she usually had up was cracking slightly again. Alecto linked hands with her, hoping that would help and scanned around for a free spot, noticing the kitchen was free.

She still held a cold cup of tea in her other hand, and after that, she definitely needed more caffeine, maybe she would actually drink coffee for once.

“I’m going to get another drink, want to come with me?” She asked. It was a little worrying how silent Marisol was. Marisol squeezed her hand in response, which she took as a yes, and led her in the direction of the kitchen.

She drank her cold tea as she walked, it was surprisingly refreshing. If she had left it any longer, even she would leave it. Tea with a skin on top was dreadful.

When they arrived at the kitchen, Alecto busied herself with making two cups of coffee. She kept the questions to a minimum, enjoying the silence. She valued having alone time a lot, which was difficult here. The silence helped her calm down enough to gain a level head enough to focus on Marisol. 

Once she finished both drinks, she sat down next to Marisol, setting the drinks down in front of them. She felt Marisol put her head on her shoulder and wrapped an arm around her. The warm energy she gave off was something different to what she had previously experienced, only Sophie had given her the same feelings. 

Her conversation with Noah yesterday floated into her head, especially when he said “sitting with someone in silence without it being awkward was a way of showing closeness.” That was something Alecto agreed with, this did apply here. Marisol felt vulnerable currently, which was something that Alecto wasn’t used to seeing from her. _It couldn’t be easy having your couple be very unsteady._

It seemed odd how the two closest couples in her opinion appeared a little rocky. _Sometimes people do fake being strong though. You should remember that, you do that too._

They settle into a comfortable silence, staying in the same position until Alecto feels both arms go dead,and remembers about her coffee. It was good she had left it, it was the perfect temperature now. She wiggled her left arm to bring some life back, while taking the occasional sip. 

Marisol straightened up, looking slightly better.

“Sorry for involving you in that argument. I could tell it was making you feel uncomfortable. I was just so fed up of going around in circles that I had to stop it somehow. Looking back,I should just have left him alone. Thank you for the coffee, and for taking my side, though. I do appreciate it.” Marisol said, giving Alecto a gentle smile. _Phew. That’s a relief._

“No problem, I understand. The grass thing was annoying after a small amount of it, let alone dealing with it for however long you were. You’ve got quite a fair amount of patience, I really don’t.” She replied, returning the smile.

They settle back into the comfortable silence until they both finish their drinks and left the kitchen.

Noah and Hope were lounging on the daybeds. He’s letting her paint his toenails. Seeing the calmer scene is a relief to Alecto.

“You guys are just adorable. Good thing Hannah’s not here. She’d see those toes and freak! Um, where is she, anyway?” Alecto said, smiling at Hope. _You don’t exactly like feet too much, hopefully they don’t smell cheesy. You’ve dealt with people who have cheesy feet, it’s not great. But you’re not rude, so you can cope. It is a little odd that Hannah isn’t here, but you’re not her biggest fan currently._

Noah winced. _Oh shoot, hopefully you haven’t put your foot in it._

“Being confident in your masculinity means being OK with losing it for a while. I used to let my little sister paint my nails all the time. Hannah has other plans, she appears to be hanging around Gary a lot.” Noah explained. _Cute! Also you respect him for that. Okay, he didn’t dodge the question._

“Aw, babe! That’s the sweetest!” Hope pats a spot on the daybed, inviting Alecto to sit with them.

“Maybe you can help with this one, Alecto. Noah keeps humming this tune. I swear I’ve heard it, but I can’t figure out for the life of me what it is. The only clue he’s given me is that it didn’t come out recently, but that doesn’t narrow things down much.” Hope said. _Yay! You’re good at guessing games!_

Alecto clapped her hands together in glee, feeling her cheeks flush slightly as both their eyes turned to her. She would never be used to having people’s attention on her.

Hope turns to Noah and gives him an encouraging nod.

“Go on, babe. Do it again.”

Noah hummed the tune. _Aha! That’s Africa by Toto. Your preference for older music comes in handy._

“That’s Africa by Toto.” Alecto said, very certain of her answer.

“Bingo.” Noah smiled at her.

“That song is old! Classic, though.” Hope starts belting out the tune.

“I bless the raaaaains down in Africa!” _Wow. Her voice is beautiful._

“I never understood why the lyrics described Kilimanjaro by comparing it to Mount Olympus. We get it. It’s a mountain. They’re both mountains. That’s like saying ‘Noah and Hope had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met.’ ‘Hold the Line’ is better, anyway.” _Noah is surprisingly vocal about Toto._

“OK,another one! But lyrics this time.” Hope said, looking like she enjoyed this game.

Noah thinks a moment before he starts to sing.

“Turn around, bright eyes…”

_Easy. Total Eclipse of the Heart._

“Total Eclipse of the Heart by Bonnie Tyler.” Alecto replied confidently.

“Got it in one, Alecto.” Noah looked impressed.

“You romantic! This guy has some serious hidden depths. Were we even born when some of those songs came out?” Hope asked.

Noah shrugs.

“I grew up listening to my dad’s vinyls.” He explained. _You prefer the older music, mainly as most of this newfangled stuff isn’t your cup of tea in the slightest and you enjoy being able to sing along to stuff._

“That’s the cutest.” Hope said. _Okay, maybe they’re pretty cute together._

Without warning, Rocco appears, singing and strumming the strings of an air guitar. 

_Blimey! Where did he come from?_

“Just maybe...you’re gonna be the one that saves me…”Rocco started singing Wonderwall.

Silence falls over the group. _Okay, go for it. You wouldn’t usually, but what’s this place for if not getting out of your comfort zone?_

She put her arms in the air and swayed, hoping to encourage the others.

“And after all...you’re my wonderwall!” She finished. She didn’t have too bad a singing voice, but she was usually too self conscious to let it free.

“That was epic, Alecto. We should jam together sometime.” Rocco said, giving her a flirty expression. _Oh sugar. You might’ve encouraged him now._

Hope rolls on top of Noah and starts whispering something in his ear. Rocco gets the hint and walks away, giving Alecto a look. _Better leave the lovebirds to it._

She crossed the lawn to find Rocco and Lottie sitting on the bean bags, staring into the bottom of an empty coffee mug. _Hmm, interesting._

“What are you both doing?” She asked them, smiling.

“I was just about to read Rocco’s coffee grounds.” Lottie explained, looking radiant. She was clearly in her element.

“I didn’t realise you were into that kind of stuff too, Rocco?” She asked for clarification.

Rocco yawns and stretches.

“Tarot and astrology? Yeah, fine. But I’m not so sure about all this coffee stuff.”

Lottie scowls at him. _Yikes. She’s not best pleased._

“What do you mean ‘not so sure’?!” Lottie said, a clear bite to her words.

“Well, it just sounds like something the coffee people want you to believe so you keep buying more coffee.” Rocco snapped, scowling at Lottie.

_Did you hear right? Or is the heat getting to you? Your head does go odd if you have too much sun after all._

“The coffee people?” Alecto asked.

“Yeah. People who sell coffee. The coffee people.” He replied. _Aha. So a marketing ploy? Maybe go along with it, it’s too hot for you to think straight currently._

“I’d never thought of it that way before.” Alecto said, keeping her words short and to the point.

“As if you really believe that, Alecto. Don’t think I can’t see when people are kissing arse to snake their way into my territory. I’m pretty sure that reading coffee grounds was a thing before high street coffee chains.” Lottie’s words are clipped, and she looks Alecto up and down. _She might smell a rat there. Watch out, do try to think straight, even though you’re not._

Lottie folds her arms and glares at Rocco.

“I only offered to do the reading because I thought it would bring us closer as a couple. But I shouldn’t have bothered.” _Lottie seems disappointed. Maybe if you asked her to read your coffee grounds, that would help? Also to smooth stuff over a bit._

“I had a coffee earlier. Why don’t you do mine instead?” Alecto said, smiling at Lottie.

“Really? But just now you said…” Lottie cuts herself off with a grin. _Yup, she does smell the rat. Whoops._

“OK, whatever. Let’s do it. You grab your mug and I’ll meet you in the bedroom in five.” Lottie looked much happier already.

She arrives to find Lottie belly-down on her bed. Rocco’s perched next to her.

“Thought you weren’t interested, Rocco?” Alecto asked.

Rocco shrugs, grinning sheepishly.

“I said I didn’t believe in it, not that I wasn’t interested in watching you two try.” He explained.

“Give me your mug, Alecto.” Lottie held her hand out, and Alecto handed her the mug, handle first.

“This would be so much better if it were Turkish coffee, but we’ll make do. Now, I need you to make a wish. Whatever you choose will be the subject of the reading.” Lottie instructed.

“Umm,OK…” She sat down on the bed next to them and tried to think of a wish.

“You know, I went to Turkey once…” _Not now, Rocco!_

“Shhh! Alecto’s concentrating.” Lottie put a finger to her lips.

Alecto squeezed her eyes right as she thought about what she wanted.

“Alright, I’ve made my wish.”

Lottie picks up a saucer that was lying on the bed beside her and places it over the mug. She hands it to Alecto.

“Alright, I’m gonna give you some instructions. You’re gonna hold the mug to your chest and swill it clockwise three times. Then you need to flip it over really quickly.” She passes Alecto the mug and saucer. Alecto holds it against her chest.

Lottie nods encouragingly as she moved the mug in a clockwise circle.

She turned the mug quickly on its head, draining the contents into the saucer.

“Nailing it, babes.” Lottie said encouragingly. Alecto passed the mug back to Lottie. A few minutes pass as she waits for the grounds to set. Finally, Lottie removes the mug from the saucer and stares.

“Moment of truth!” Alecto said.

She leans over to try and see what Lottie’s seeing.

“This is kind of hard to make out. I see...I see a circle! It could either be a full moon, which means true love...or it could be a ring. That means an affair.” Lottie narrows her eyes slightly and glances between Alecto and Rocco.

“Should I be happy or worried?” Alecto asked.

“That depends. It doesn’t tell me who’s having the affair.” Lottie said.

“But it could still be love, right?” She checked. 

“Hmm. I guess.” There’s a moment of silence while Alecto contemplates Lottie’s reading. _Hmm. You’ve been putting the rest of the boys off, apart from Gary and Rocco. Which might be an issue later, but that’s for future Alecto to handle._

“That was fun!” Alecto said.

“I’m glad we did this.” Lottie looked much happier.

Suddenly, Rocco gets between you two, takes the mug and starts wandering off.

“What are you doing? There could be more to read in that!” Lottie protested.

“Isn’t it obvious? I’m getting a refill.” He explained. _Using your mug! Lovely._

Alecto’s in the kitchen washing mugs when her phone buzzes.

“Guys, I got a text!” She calls out.

The other Islanders run over.

“What does it say?” Lottie asked.

“Islanders, tonight there will be a recoupling. The boys will choose. Whoever is still single by the end of the evening will be dumped from the Villa immediately.” _But you’re single. Oh no._

She looks up at the other Islanders. Gary and Rocco are both staring at her. Lottie reaches out for her hand.

“Oh.My.Days.” Lottie looks shocked.


	8. Chapter 8

Alecto is on the lawn, preparing for a hard day’s grafting. Before she can do anything, Hope appears beside her.

“Us girls need to rally together so no one gets left behind. I want to help you out.”Hope said, giving her a wide smile.  _ She definitely seems calmer now, at least. It’s worth it to see how she wants to help. _

“Sounds great, babe.” Alecto returned the smile.

“Amazing.” Hope pats Alecto on the arm. “I’m worried about you, Alecto. I’ve been thinking about it all morning. If you don’t put yourself out there, you can’t expect one of the boys to go for you, you know? You need to be thinking about your options. I’ve been talking with Noah and I reckon I’ve got the inside track on a couple of the boys. Do you want to hear what I’ve got to say?” Hope asked.  _ She might have the right idea about you, which the others don’t appear to, yet. You’re definitely not the outgoing type of person. _

“Yes, it might help me get the boy I want.” 

“I guess the obvious place to start is with Gary. Do you think there’s a future between you and him?” Hope asked.  _ You have been experiencing doubts about him, so changing tactics might help you. _

“He’s the last resort. I mean, if he picks me and that keeps me in the Villa, then great. But if the last few days have shown me anything, it’s that there are probably other boys who are a better match for me.” She explained.

“Truth. See, that’s what I’m talking about. That’s the kind of thing we can plan around. So if Gary isn’t an option...Noah was saying that, like, you’ve spent a ton of time trying talking to him...and that’s fine, I’m not trying to be jealous and stop people being friends and that… but, hun, he’s not going to pick you. He’s gonna pick me or Hannah, as he does have an interest in both of us. So you’ve got to think about who else is out there. Maybe Rocco.” Hope explained.  _ Noah is definitely just a friend, you’re not getting involved with that mess between him, Hope and Hannah. Rocco, on the other hand. He’s been arguing with Lottie a lot, so maybe she deserves a chance to try something new? Bobby is too loud and excitable for you and Ibrahim is too awkward and quiet for you, which leaves you with Rocco or Gary. Neither is your type, but change is definitely good sometimes. _

“Yeah, he’s an option for sure.” She said.

“OK, great. We can plan around that. Let’s practice what you should say. Like, now. Imagine I’m Rocco, and we’re having a chat. Serve me a line.” Hope said.  _ Uh oh. Spontaneity isn’t your strong suit, that’s for sure.  _

“You could turn my head.” Alecto kept it simple deliberately, this could go wrong, especially since of all people it was Rocco she was going for.

“I feel like he might respond better to something a little more direct than that. It’s Love Island, not I-Quite-Like-You Island. But what you say is only part of it. It’s all about what you don’t say, and how you don’t say it.” Hope said.  _ What? That’s confusing! _

“What?” She looked at Hope with a furrowed brow.  _ Hopefully she has a good explanation. _

“I mean it’s… I’m basically trying to say it’s about the body language, too. Show me those bedroom eyes.” Hope explained.

In response, Alecto gave Hope her best smouldering stare, combined with a lip bite.  _ Rocco would like this, right? _

“Yes! Keep looking at him like that. That’s going to make his head spin. Just one other thing...Rocco spends half his life on the road, so let him imagine you on that journey. Ask him where you’d go travelling together. That kind of thing. And as for his current partner...Lottie’s blatantly going to be furious that you’re going for her man, but I guess that’s Love Island! Go get on with it, hun!” Hope encouraged her.  _ You’re screwed if this does backfire, as Lottie will focus her anger for Priya on to you. There’s no harm in trying though. If he’s looking for the outgoing type, that’s very much not you. _

Rocco is sitting cross-legged on a daybed, staring into the distance.

“Hey Rocco. How’s it going?” She smiled at him, trying to stay natural.

“Oh, hi Alecto. I was hoping that you’d come over to talk with me. I feel like in all the excitement in the Villa, there just aren’t many chances for deep, meaningful communication. I was just thinking about those hills over there.” He points off into the distance.  _ Hmm. Deep, meaningful conversation does sound good. _

“What’s special about the hills?” She asked, following his lead.

“I’m wondering what’s behind them. I’d love to drive up to the top in my truck and lay out a picnic. Take someone special up there and spend the afternoon looking up at the clouds...good food, good chat, and then later, we’d just hit the road, see where it takes us…” he trailed off, looking thoughtful.  _ That does sound interesting. _

“I’d love to come with you.” She kept her words short and sweet, maintaining some level of the mask she usually hid behind. 

“See, we’re on the same wavelength here I think. The spirit of adventure lives.” He goes quiet and looks her in the eye.

“I don’t feel Lottie really gets my vibe. But you, on the other hand, really get me. I think we’ve got a good vibe. Do you agree?” He said.  _ The spark isn’t really present, but it doesn’t always appear instantly.  _

“You should pick me, then.” She combined her words with the smouldering stare and lip bite from earlier.  _ Hopefully you’re not going to make a fool of yourself here. _

“Wow.” He looks her in the eye. “I’d love to. It would be a pleasure.” He holds her gaze for a really long time. 

After a few moments, he stretches and gets up.

“See you in a bit, Alecto.” He walks off, leaving Alecto standing by the daybed. 

She took a seat, her mind whirring.

_ He definitely wasn’t able to pick up the mask, or any of it really. He just seemed pleased that you managed to read him well. Even Gary can spot a bit of the mask, even if he doesn’t notice all of it. Are you making a mistake here, or is this worth it? _

She knew that no matter how long she spent puzzling this out, she wouldn’t have a satisfactory answer. None of the boys were realistically her type, and they all seemed to be drawn to more outgoing people anyway which was the direct opposite of her. 

_ There’s always a chance more people could come in later, that is if you survive this recoupling. _

She stood and scanned her surroundings. She noticed Gary sitting on a beanbag and walked in his direction. As he sees her approach, he gets up, grabs another bean bag, and puts it down next to his.

“Alright?” She sat down next to him.

“Feeling good for the recoupling? I’m well excited.” He said.  _ Of course he is, it’s a boys pick! _

“Who are you going to pick for the recoupling then?” Alecto asked. She rested on her hand and watched him carefully. 

“Haha! Direct. I like that. So, I’m thinking it’s all about strategy at this stage, right? It’s about staying in the Villa, and it’s about playing the long game. Gonna keep my cards close to my chest on that one. My nan always says ‘use your loaf, even if it’s half-baked’. It means think your plans through until you take them out of the oven, I think.”  _ That’s not helpful. If anything, it’s worrying. Why do you care, anyway? You were just talking to Rocco! _

“So you’re going to keep your plans a secret until the big moment?” She asked for clarification.

“Yeah.” He said.  _ He’s avoiding the question entirely.  _

“What’s your nan like?” She said the first thing that came into her mind that wasn’t recoupling related.

“Oh mate, my nan’s amazing. She’s 73 and she still cooks for the whole family every Sunday. She helps out at this local charity who deliver food for old people who can’t get out much, and half the people they deliver food to are younger than her. And she’s totally brutal. She wrecks everyone, all day long. Doesn’t take cheek from anybody. Tongue as sharp as lemon juice. Totally foul mouth, too. Always effing and blinding. And she gives my girlfriends a really hard time.” Gary grinned, clearly pleased at the change of subject. 

“She sounds incredible.” Alecto replied.  _ You have respect for people who are family centred, your family means a lot to you too. _

“Yeah, she’s amazing.” He lies back in his beanbag and looks up at the Villa.

“Look, I know we were coupled up back at the start and all...but as far as I’m concerned, it was only for a day. We’ll see how it goes later, alright?” 

Alecto nodded, disappearing off to get ready. Her head was spinning and she had a major headache.

_ Water bottle’s empty. Better fill it up! It’s so important to stay hydrated. _

Rocco’s floating around the kitchen making a smoothie.

“Oh, hey. I’m just whipping a wheatgrass smoothie. It’s great for centering your digestion at this time of day. Want one?” He asked.  _ There’s no harm in trying one. _

“Yes please. I’d love to try one.” She gave him a smile.

“Incredible choice. One wheatgrass special coming right up.” 

Alecto’s filling her water bottle when her phone beeps.

“Guys, I got a text!” Just at that moment, Rocco starts the blender, drowning her out. Nobody hears her.

“Sorry, Rocco, could you just…” she glared at him, the sound is deafening, and it echoes in her ears. Loud noises were always difficult for her to handle. 

“Sorry, what? This will just be a minute.” The blender’s so loud he can’t hear her.  _ Having a softer voice does suck sometimes! _

“I’ve got a text. I want to yell it out.” She tried speaking louder.

“I can’t hear you! The blender is too loud!” He shouted back.  _ Oh great. This is frustrating. _

Bobby walks over. He shouts over the noise.

“Hey guys! Is that a wheatgrass smoothie?”

“Yeah!” Rocco shouted back.

Bobby keeps yelling at the top of his lungs.

“Oo, can I get some? That stuff really helps to centre the digestion!”

Rocco turns the blender off.

“Sure thing, my friend.” Rocco said.

“You alright Alecto?” Bobby asked, giving her a concerned look. _ Finally, someone noticed! It felt like you had been glaring at Rocco and the blender for longer than a minute. _

“Yeah, I just got a text.” She explained.

“Awesome! Why didn’t you say so?” Before she can react, he yells “Guys! Alecto’s got a text!”  _ Unbelievable. _ She turned her glare on Bobby, who doesn’t even notice.

The other Islanders come running.

“What does it say?” He asked.

“Islanders, the recoupling will be taking place in one hour. Please get yourselves ready and gather at the Firepit.” She read the text.

“Right, this is it, then…”Marisol was still difficult to read, so Alecto had no idea whether she was actually nervous.

“Oh wow, here we go.” Hannah’s eyes are wide, and she’s moving from foot to foot.

“Be cool, babes. You’ve got this.” Lottie encouraged her.

Most of the Islanders hurry up to the dressing room to get ready. Lottie hangs back.

“Here’s your smoothie, Alecto.”Rocco hands her a warm beaker of green goop.

“Oh, hey, is that a wheatgrass smoothie?” Lottie asked.

“Sure is.” He replied.

“Can I get one? They absolutely sort the equilibrium of your afternoon metabolism.” Lottie asked.

“I know, right? Let me whip up another batch.”

Alecto sips her smoothie. She doesn’t feel any different.

The hiss of hairspray is the only sound as she walks into the dressing room. The other girls seem intensely focused on getting ready.

“Aargh!” Suddenly Hannah is buried under a pile of clothes that come cascading out of her wardrobe.

“You OK, hun?” Alecto asked.

“Ugh! Yeah, I’m fine. It’s my fault for not putting them back properly. Annoying things.” She kicks the pile, scrunching up her face.

“Sorry. I’m useless when I’m nervous.”

“Here, Hannah, let me help.” She started picking up clothes and replacing them on their hangers. Hannah fumbles with a dress for a minute and then joins in.

“I’m just really nervous about the recoupling. It’s got my head all twisted. I feel like nobody’s going to pick me...Noah might, but I feel like maybe his head’s been turned, and Gary, that was a resounding fail.” The petulant expression on Hannah’s face persists.

“You’ll be fine, hun. Don’t worry about it now.” Alecto tried to reassure her.

“Yeah, listen to Alecto. You’re the whole package, Hannah! You’re smart, you’re pretty, you’ve got an amazing way with words...and if the boys don’t see that, they’re fools.” Priya joined in.

“One of them’s bound to pick you.” Alecto said.

Hannah sniffs.

“Thanks guys. I needed that.” A smile appeared on her face.  _ Lottie is a little quiet here. You’d expect her to help her bestie, maybe they’re not that close after all. _

Marisol rolls her eyes.

“Hey, you’re not the only one at risk, alright? Things aren’t exactly going peachy with me and Bobby. And you’ve got two possible people who could choose you. I might’ve been successful with grafting on Gary earlier, but you appeared so all in with Noah. It’s surprising that you’re giving up on that to try and pursue something with Gary, when you’re still not sure he’s going to pick you. Typical sunk cost fallacy there. That’s so you.” Marisol was glaring at Hannah.  _ It appears that this is really getting to her. Hannah is making everything a big deal though, so that’s a little frustrating. You only have so much patience for people like that, especially when you’re unsure yourself, as to whether your back up plan will work. _

“What does that even mean? What are you on about?” Hannah snapped, her face back to being scrunched up.  _ This better not cause yet another fight.  _ Alecto watched both of them warily and moved so she stood beside Marisol, giving her hand a gentle squeeze in an attempt at comforting her. 

“I...I don’t have headspace to get into it now, alright? I need to focus. Still, he’s not the only person I get on with, at least. Me and Rocco actually have quite a lot to talk about.” A smile returned to Marisol’s face, and she squeezed Alecto’s hand back. She felt the spark ignite again, and a fizzing feeling was felt in her palm. None of the others appeared to notice the interaction, or the fact Alecto had moved.  _ Guess you’ve fallen back into the role of the invisible wallflower again. You’d be lucky to survive this recoupling too but you don’t want pity. _

“Rocco?” Lottie looked surprised.  _ Guess she didn’t predict that. _

“He’s really interested in what I’m studying at uni. You know he went to a really good university for a year but then dropped out?” Marisol replied.  _ That’s not the type of thing you expected, but it’s quite personal to be discussed with the entire group. _

“I didn’t, actually. He hasn’t mentioned it to me.” Lottie said.

“It sounds quite personal. Are you sure you should be telling us that?” Alecto said.

“I know, you’re right. But I wanted to talk to someone about it. He said that and then kinda went quiet. And not the kind of quiet when you know he’s just trying to think of something really deep to say.” Marisol replied. Her hand remained in Alecto’s, and being close to her helped calm Alecto’s own nerves.  _ Sophie had the same calming effect on you, that’s definitely a sign. Of what, you’re not entirely sure. _

“Oh my gosh, I completely know what you mean! He wants you to think he just came up with something deep on the spot but he’s been thinking about it for ages.” Lottie said.  _ You completely fell for that earlier, despite wanting to stay as far from him as possible previously. _

“Yeah, this wasn’t like that. I don’t think he likes to talk about his time at uni, but he told me.” Marisol explained.  _ He talked to her about something that personal? Maybe he’ll pick her then, and leave you in the lurch. _

The room falls quiet.

Across the room, Priya is focused on getting ready. She doesn’t get involved in the chat, keeping her attention on her reflection.


	9. Chapter 9

A pineapple and coconut mist hangs over the dressing room as the girls scramble to look their best.

Alecto looks through her clothes, noticing what amounted to a Halloween costume: a black and red jumpsuit with wings, basically a devil costume. She had no idea why she’d packed it, but pulled it out of her suitcase. _Why not try something a little different?_

When she’d changed into it, she noticed Lottie look her up and down, then smiles approvingly.

“You don’t think it’s too much?” Alecto asked, fiddling with the black bracelet around her wrist. _This wasn’t what she would usually wear, that was certain._

“Babes, I love it. You’ve really captured your essence with that costume.” Lottie replied. _So you’re really a devil and your essence is devilish? Huh?_

“Captured my essence?” Alecto was more than a little bit confused. 

“Halloween isn’t just about dressing up like a sexy cat or something. As the nights draw in, we celebrate the darkness by letting our true spirit out.”

“And you think this is my true spirit?”

“It’s definitely showing me a side of you I’ve never seen before. It’s perfect for this time of year.”

“Why?”

“It’s a waxing moon in Sagittarius this Halloween too, which means it’s time to be open and take an emotional risk.”

Lottie winks at her.

“Try it. You never know what might happen…”

Hope claps twice to get the attention of the room. The girls look up, their foundation brushes poised in mid-air.

“We feeling good, ladies?” Hope had a warm smile.

“Far from it.” Hannah’s voice is softer than usual.

Alecto glances over at Hannah. She’s pacing around restlessly.

“I’m sure it’s going to be fine, hun.” Hope tried to reassure her.

“Yeah, I’m sure you’re right. Que sera sera!” Hannah’s voice wavers. 

“What does that even mean?” Lottie asked.

“It’s from a musical. There’s a whole song about it.” Hannah clears her throat and starts singing. Her voice is wobbly and slightly shrill.

“Que sera sera…” she glances over to Alecto for support.

“Whatever will be, will be. The future’s not ours to see. Que sera sera!” She joined in, her voice relaxing into the song. _It feels so odd, singing so much. You haven’t done this for years, since high school and Étienne making you self conscious of your voice. It does feel nice though, like welcoming an old friend._

“You’re just a ray of sunshine, aren’t you?” Lottie said, turning her smile to Hannah. Hannah beams at Lottie and air-curtseys.

Alecto spots Priya watching her in the mirror as she starts applying her makeup. _Why’s Priya looking so nervous? Any of us could technically go home tonight. She may be gorgeous, but she’s still the new girl._

Alecto smiled at her in an attempt to help her be less nervous.

Priya blinks, then smiles back.

Hannah checks herself in the mirror one last time. Marisol’s gaze flickers towards her.

“If you’re still nervous, try focusing on the point just behind your belly button. It forces your body to relax. That goes to all of you.” Marisol seemed a little calmer than earlier, which was a relief.

“It’s time, girls. If we’re all ready, let’s head on down.” Hope tried to keep the spirits up.

Lottie takes Hannah’s hand as they file out of the room.

Alecto arrives at the firepit to find the boys sitting on the bench, chatting nervously amongst themselves.

She stands with the girls in a row in front of the firepit.

Silence falls over the group as the boys’ conversations die out. The sound of cicadas fills her ears. Lottie reaches for her hand and gives it a squeeze. She looks at each of the boys in turn. Even Bobby looks stressed. Only Noah seems unfazed, his expression as unreadable as ever. Finally, she hears a phone beep.

“That’s me.” Noah stands up and faces the row of girls. His eyes are already fixed on Hope’s. Hope breaks out in a grin that lights up her face, and Noah flashes a bright smile back. _He’s going to choose Hope, isn’t he? Poor Hannah, she should really have stayed with him._

She manages to tune out his entire speech by accident, until it falls silent. She notices Noah watching Hope, who can barely keep her body still from excitement. To her surprise, Hannah isn’t reacting, her face blank. _She probably saw this coming._

“Hope.”

Hope runs to Noah, and they melt into a hug. In front of all the Islanders, he sweeps her off her feet and kisses her. All the Islanders, apart from Hannah and Lottie, burst into applause. Lottie’s green eyes are staring daggers into Hope and Noah, while Hannah looks downcast. 

“My heart was racing the whole time!” Hope looked ecstatic, ignoring Lottie’s glare.

“It was always going to be you.” Noah replied. Alecto felt Lottie’s hand tense where it was linked with hers, and she gave her a warning squeeze.

“You guys are adorable. Just have some beautiful babies already, yeah?” Alecto tried to ease the tension a bit, giving both of them a warm smile. _Noah deserves someone who trusts him, and doesn’t vanish on a whim. Hannah’s little plan might work now, and where would that leave you?_

“They _would_ be beautiful…” Hope and Noah sit together at the firepit.

The silence resumes. The suspense is starting to draw on all of them.

Eventually, Ibrahim’s phone beeps. 

_Hopefully you’ll be okay. Bobby and Rahim won’t pick you, you’ve only got two possibilities. Fingers crossed this isn’t the end of the line for you._

She bit her lip, hearing a muffled giggle from somewhere down the line. Her nerves were making it hard to concentrate on the speeches, this was twice she’d zoned out. She pushed her glasses up her nose to shift some nervous energy. _Try to listen to the next 3, at least. You’ll know whether your plan worked or not soon._

Ibrahim glances at her, but looks away.

“Priya.” 

Priya squeaks and pecks Ibrahim’s cheek. He blushes.

“That’s so great, you guys!” Hope looks delighted, she wasn’t bothered that Rahim didn’t pick her. _It appears to be all changes here tonight, which does make you wonder a bit._

“Congratulations! You two are perfect for each other.” The best way to shift her nerves was to compliment the others. _Being nice is free, after all._

“You’re so sweet for saying that. Thank you, Alecto.” Priya and Ibrahim take their seats.

A few moments later, another phone goes off.

Bobby jumps up.

“That’s me! I kind of knew when I came in here that it would take a lot for me to see anyone as more than a ridiculously gorgeous friend. So far it hasn’t happened. No offence or anything. While I hope it can still happen for me, I’m choosing to couple up with this person because I really rate them. Like, in general. And I’m not about to spend all summer in the Villa without them. No way.” Bobby winks at one of the girls. You can’t make out who.

“We still have too much getting to know each other left in store! So without further ado, the person unfortunate enough to be locked into a couple with me is...Lottie! Come and get it, baby girl!” Lottie lets go of Alecto’s hand, laughs and walks over to Bobby. They hug. Everyone cheers.

“You guys are gonna slay it!” She gave both of them a warm smile.

“You know it!” Bobby and Lottie take their seats. _And then there were three. You might still have a chance, I doubt it._

Hannah moves closer to Alecto.

“Well, it’s between me, you and Marisol now. And you’re both gorgeous,so…” Hannah sighs. “Things aren’t looking too good for me, are they?” _She appears to have given up entirely. You appear to have taken on the cheerleader role._

“I bet you’ll get picked. You have nothing to worry about.” She whispered back.

“I don’t know how you can be so confident about that.” Hannah still sounded uncertain.

“What are you guys whispering about? Remember what I told you, hun. Concentrate on your belly button. Breathe.” Alecto jumped as she noticed Marisol appear on her other side. _Blimey! Does she have any footsteps?_

Her heart was racing, the nerves were getting to her.

Before either her or Hannah can reply, another phone beeps. Silence falls over the group.

“My turn.” Rocco stands up, his eyes move between her,Hannah and Marisol. He takes a deep breath.

“Honestly, I didn’t know that I was still looking for a girl like this when I came in. But the magnetism I feel towards her is unignorable. In a world of embers, she’s a roaring bonfire. My soul is drawn to her flames like a wanderer in the night. Or a moth! Oh, and she’s really hot. So, although I know this might come out of the blue, I really want to see where things go with me and this girl. So the girl I’d like to couple up with is…” he pauses. Finally, his eyes fall on Alecto. “Alecto.”

The other Islanders turn to look at her. Gary’s eyes go wide, he frowns and looks at Rocco. _He was going to pick you, after all? How?_

“Thanks babe.” It’s a job to keep her voice calm at this point. _Your plan worked. Then why aren’t you happy?_

“No problem.” She crossed over to Rocco, and threw her arms around him in an effort to keep from shaking. He grins and wraps her up in his arms, squeezing her close. _How can you still feel_ _nothing at all? Not even a mini spark? Was this a mistake?_ The other Islanders erupt in applause, even Lottie. _She seems to be taking this well._

You take a seat together around the firepit.

Standing before her are Hannah and Marisol.

Gary’s phone beeps. He stands up.

“Guess I’m last.” He looks between the two girls. Marisol flicks her hair, smiling confidently at Gary. Hannah looks down at the ground and takes a deep breath, squeezing her eyes shut. _She probably knows what’s going to happen._

“I didn’t reckon going at the end would be this hard, to be honest. I mean, one of you girls is going home based on my decision.” Gary sighs and shakes his head sadly.

“But that’s the way it has to be, right?” He glances at Rocco. “And someone already chose the girl I was originally going to pick...still, it is what it is and I’m open to giving this girl a chance and keeping my options open. I’d like to couple up with this girl because she gets what this is all about. In a way, she reminds me of my nan-“ 

A few of the Islanders exchange glances. “I’m interested in what she has to say. Plus, she’s flames. So I’m going to make this quick. The girl I want to couple up with...is Marisol.” He finished off his speech. _That’s actually kinda cute. Maybe making it obvious that Marisol was only a second choice wasn’t great of him, but you were his first choice! Wow._

Marisol smiles. “Thanks, babe.”

Beside her, Hannah’s shoulders slump. She looks even shorter than Marisol as she folds in on herself slightly, looking like a crumpled flower.

The Islanders around the firepit clap as Marisol walks over to Gary and plants a peck on his cheek. Only Lottie refrains from joining in, glaring icily at both of them. _She’s definitely going to kick off, despite the fact she has been on and off with supporting Hannah._

“I’m so happy for you both! Congrats!” She gives Marisol a warm smile. The positive energy is easier to keep up regarding Marisol in particular. _Maybe because you’ve been picked now? It can’t be easy being picked last, she’s taking it well._

“Thanks, hun.” Marisol smiles back.

“Uhm, what about Hannah?!” Lottie snaps with a sharp tone, her green eyes focusing on Alecto. 

The applause dies as the Islanders turn to look at Hannah, standing on her own before the group.

“I...I don’t know what to say. I can’t believe I’m going home!” Hannah’s phone beeps. She holds it up with shaking hands.

“Hannah, your time on Love Island has come to an end. Please pack your bags and get ready to leave the Villa immediately.”

“Oh my gosh, babe!” Lottie gets up and strides over to her, pulling her into a tight hug. “It won’t be the same without you here. I’m gonna miss you, like, so much. You brought the loveliest energy in here with you. Who’s going to be the sunshine to my moonlight now?”

As soon as they let go, Marisol swoops in to embrace Hannah.

“I’m so sorry, hun.” 

One by one, the other Islanders get up and start flocking around Hannah, showering her in hugs and kind words. Eventually, Hannah turns to Alecto.

“Good luck, babes. I’m sure you’ll find your prince charming on the outside in no time.”

Her words bring a small smile to Hannah’s face.

“Thanks for saying that. I really hope you’re right…” Hannah turns away. Gary is the last person waiting to say goodbye. She approaches him hesitantly. He puts his arms around her, all but engulfing her in his large frame, and pats her on the back.

“No hard feelings, yeah?” Hannah doesn’t reply. She delicately extracts herself. Lottie takes both her hands.

“Babe, I know you didn’t find what you were looking for. I wish you had. But remember, Love Island isn’t just about romance. If anything, it’s just as much about making BFFs. And when I met you, I found a BFF for life.” Lottie wipes a tear from her eye. _Lottie’s getting really sentimental over this…_

“As soon as summer’s over, we’re gonna hang out, OK?”

“I’d like that.” The two girls hug again.

Gary makes his way over to Alecto while the others are still saying goodbye to Hannah.

“Hey, I just want to let you know that I would have chosen you if Rocco hadn’t got there first. It’s only fair I get to know Marisol, so let’s keep our options open, but...you were my first pick, so if things don’t work out with you and Rocco...early days and all that.” He gives her arm a gentle squeeze. _Your earlier suspicions are confirmed. So you would maybe have been okay if you hadn’t had this backup plan of yours._

The Islanders wait quietly outside as Hannah walks out of the door with her suitcase. She looks around the group, managing a fragile smile.

“Well, I guess I’m leaving now. Thanks for everything, guys. Even if it was only short. I hope we’ll all keep in contact.” She closes her eyes and furrows her brow, raising one hand in a dramatic gesture.

“Together we beat on, like boats in the current, into the future.” A few of the Islanders frown. She waves as she walks away, but stops short, turning around. _Hang on. That quote is definitely wrong, you should know, given the amount of times you’ve read the Great Gatsby. It’s actually ‘so we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.’_

“I think I see where I went wrong, now. And if I could have my time in here again...I’d do a couple of things differently.” There’s a look on her face Alecto hasn’t seen before, but she turns and carries on walking before you have time to place it.

“Goodbye, everyone!” Alecto joins the other Islanders waving at Hannah. She grins and waves back as she walks away down the drive, disappearing into the night.

“I can’t believe she’s gone.” Bobby pulls Lottie into a bear hug.

“Let’s all get back inside.” Hope said.

Alecto’s in the bathroom brushing her teeth when Lottie walks in. _This feels so awkward. Hopefully she’s okay with you being coupled up with Rocco, as you didn’t give her the heads up._

A moment passes before she smiles at you.

“Oh, hi.”

She looks uncomfortable.

“I’ll come back when you’re done.” She moves towards the door.

“There’s no need to take turns in here.” _That was what you meant to say, but it became garbled by toothpaste._

“What?!” Lottie looked very confused.

She spits out her toothpaste and rinses her mouth.

“I said, ‘There’s no need to take turns in here’. It’s kind of a communal bathroom, after all. There are two sinks. Plus, I’m basically finished.” 

“Oh. Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Lottie crosses over to the sink beside her and takes out her toothbrush. Their eyes meet in the mirror.

_This is so awkward…_

“How’re you holding up?” Alecto scrambled for something to say to break the silence.

“Well, let’s see...oh yeah, Rocco just dropped me for you. And my best friend in here was just dumped...So what do you think?” Her words are sharp. _Oh yeah, stupid question. But what about you? Aren’t you also her best friend?_

Lottie sighs, examining her toothbrush.

“To be fair, I reckon being with Bobby could be alright. He’s such a sort, you know? Like, I get that he’s not into anyone yet, but I reckon I can change that.” She pauses and taps the countertop lightly with her toothbrush. Catching Alecto’s eye in the mirror, she manages a lopsided smile.

“How’s it feel to be with Rocco? Is it all you ever dreamed of?” Lottie asked. To Alecto’s surprise she seemed genuine.

“Um...too early to tell.” She didn’t meet Lottie’s eyes, hoping that the other girl wouldn’t pick up her doubt.

“I guess that’s fair. Early days and all that.” Lottie sighs.

“Look, Alecto...I just wanna say, I’m really glad we’ve been friends up until now. I’m not exactly peachy about everything today...but girls come first, OK? We’ve gotta stick together. I need you more than ever now with Hannah gone. So, are we good?”

“Yes, of course, hun.” She let out a relieved sigh, the tension was getting to her.

“Glad to hear it. Let’s put this recoupling business behind us.”

Rocco runs over to Alecto as she arrives in the bedroom. He looks about to say something but pauses.

“What I wanted to say was...you’re just in time.” He said.

“Huh? For what?” Alecto asked.

“We’re deciding who should get the best bed.” He explained.

“The corner one, pacifically.” Hope replied. _Hang on, did she just say pacifically?_

“Hope reckons she and Noah deserve to have it. Wait, Hope...did you just say ‘pacifically’? Like the ocean?” Gary looked at Hope in confusion. _He read your mind!_

“That’s how you say it!” She protested.

“Mate, it’s ‘specifically’.” Gary pointed out.

“Oh my days, Gary, will you leave off? As I was saying… Noah and I are the strongest couple. So we need the most privacy.” Hope said.

“Yeah, we all know what that means! Pacifically. Get in there, Noah!” _Not Gary saying it too! Come on._

Across the room, Noah’s cheeks grow slightly pink. Hope rolls her eyes.

Rocco leans over and whispers in Alecto’s ear.

“You wanna try and get the corner bed? You know...so it’s less like everybody’s watching us together…” He blushes.

Looking around the room, she spots Hope eyeing up the corner bed, too. She runs across the room and throws herself on the corner bed.

“Argument settled.” _The element of surprise was the perfect way to sort this._

“Well, that’s one way to do it.” Gary looks at her, amazed.

“Snooze you lose.” _Literally. Your competitive streak can be helpful._

Alecto slides beneath the sheets. Rocco climbs in on the other side, grinning at her. The sheets are cool, but his body is warm.

“Nice job getting the best bed!”

The other Islanders start settling down for bed, turning their attention to each other. Eventually, the lights go off.

The duvet rustles as Rocco turns in her direction. His voice is a whisper.

“I wanted to check something with you. You’re cool with this, right? Sharing a bed with me so soon? I get that it’s all kind of intense. You’re really beautiful and I hope the attraction is mutual, but... I’m definitely not pushing for anything to happen between us before you’re ready. We can share the bed as friends for now.” He looks at her thoughtfully.

“I’d like some space.” Her heart was still racing from earlier, she had no idea how she would be able to sleep.

“Oh. Uh...OK. Sorry. I mean, it’s fine. I’ll see you in the morning.” Rocco rolls over, pulling the covers across his shoulder. Alecto tries to get to sleep for a while, until she gets up for a glass of water. As she’s passing the bathroom, she hears the sound of muffled sobs, and knocks on the door. 

“Are you okay?” She keeps her voice quiet to not wake up the others, placing her ear to the door. She hears nothing apart from sniffles for a while, then it falls quiet. 

“I’m still here, can I come in?” She asked. The silence looms again, until she falls into the bathroom as the door opens. _Shit! Leaning all your weight on the door wasn’t helpful._

To her surprise, she felt arms around her, preventing her from falling onto the cold tiles below. She hadn’t grabbed her glasses earlier, so everything was a little blurry around the edges. She found her feet again, and steadied herself, taking the open door as an invitation into the bathroom and walking inside, shutting the door behind her gently. 

Once inside, she noticed Lottie standing there, looking at her. The other girl looked vulnerable, tears in her eyes. She was pacing back and forth, Hannah leaving obviously had an effect on her.

The room is silent and Alecto is unsure how to go about this. She was usually the one who fell apart, not the one who had to console others.

“Hey. You’ll be okay, you have me now and we can stick together. It’s probably not the same, but I care about you too.” She tried, keeping her voice softer and her sentences more measured so she didn’t trip over her words.

Lottie pulls her into a tight hug, she doesn’t resist like she usually does. _That’s two people to give you a random hug today and you didn’t stop them! What’s gotten into you?_ The hug feels comfortable and warm, and lasts for longer than she expected, hearing Lottie cry into her shoulder. 

It feels a little close for her liking, somewhat claustrophobic. She tries to set herself free, but Lottie nestles further into her and she gives up, waiting until Lottie herself is ready to let go. 

Eventually, it’s over. She can see Lottie staring at her with wide green eyes, and she moves closer. They lock eyes for a moment in time. _Why does this, whatever this is feel like much more than what you have with Rocco or Gary? There’s something more, with more substance than either of those relationships._

She takes in a breath, surprising herself by not moving away from Lottie. She has to look up to meet Lottie’s eyes, given how much she towers over her.

“You deserve so much better, you know. If Rocco was planning on switching he should have told you first. It was a surprise to me too, but apart from Gary, it appears he was the only other one I hadn’t put off in some way. I don’t know how to feel now, either, I just get bad vibes from him. I should probably feel happy, but I don’t, given the fact that I played a part in hurting you, and for that I’m so sorry. We’ve only known each other for 3 days, but it feels like we’ve known each other for an entire lifetime. Maybe that’s what this place does to you.” She felt herself rambling out of utter nervousness, and out of feeling strangely comfortable. Lottie had remained so silent for so long it was starting to feel weird. 

Just for a moment, she feels Lottie’s lips crash into hers. It takes her by surprise, but she responds to the kiss, kissing her back and stretching on to her tiptoes for a little more height. She pulled Lottie closer to her, her hands settling on Lottie’s back. She feels the spark within her ignite, and her eyes widen in surprise. 

_But...you thought she was straight! Maybe not. Especially not if the feeling you’re feeling is this intense._

They move away from each other, and Lottie’s expression matches her own. Before she can even say a word, Lottie has disappeared out of the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. 

Alecto moves to stand in front of the mirror and stares at herself, her heart racing. _That can’t have been real! But what if it is? And what about Rocco and Bobby? This kiss has an impact on your partners too, you know how much of an impact Étienne cheating on you had. Now you’re just as bad as he is. Why do you have to screw everything up? You’ve probably scared her off._

She feels silent tears fall down her cheeks, and covers her mouth to muffle her sobs. _How can something that felt so good be so bad?_


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I posted the first chapter of this fic 2 months ago, which is a bit wow! 3rd September was the day I first posted it, and I only realised until yesterday. I might do something for it, not too sure! At the end of the month, I’ll have been writing this fic for 5 months, as I started it back in July (end of July). I completely lost track of anniversaries entirely though.

It’s the morning after the first Islander was dumped from the Villa, and all is quiet… Well, except Noah’s snoring, and Marisol’s sleep-talking. One Islander, Alecto, doesn’t appear to have had the best sleep.

_For goodness sake! How does Hope sleep with Noah snoring so loud? If she can cope with that, they’re meant for each other. You naturally wake up early, but because of the noise, and the kiss, you haven’t been able to sleep much at all. At best, you’ve had 4 hours of sleep which isn’t great, but at least you’ll be somewhat functional after coffee. Only issue here is your temper can be very easily triggered, you don’t have as long a tether compared to when you’re well rested._

She turns to look at Rocco. He’s kicked all his sheets to the bottom of the bed, revealing his chiseled body. His hands rest cupped over his lower abs. His face is the picture of serenity. She looks around the room. At first, in the gloom, she thinks no one else has stirred. Then she notices Lottie sitting straight up in bed, staring at her. Her long, colourful hair is dangling in front of her face. She smiles.

“Alecto.” _Okay, we appear to be pretending everything’s okay, that nothing happened. You can probably do this, if you try. She seems fine, like she hasn’t had last night repeating in her head, for so long. You’ve been silent for far too long now, it’s a little funny that one of the two people who’s been occupying your thoughts recently is the one who talks to you at whatever time this is._

“You made me jump.” She kept her voice quiet enough to not wake up the other Islanders.

“Good. I like doing that. I’m great at it.” _So are you! But that’s more that you’re so quiet people forget you exist and jump when you talk kind of thing. You’ve had to deal with too many comments about how quiet you are._

She hears a rustling sound. Across the room, Gary sits up and looks at her.

“Oi! Keep it down you two. Some of us are trying to sleep off an...active night. Marisol and I had a great time last night. If you know what I mean…” _Even if that is true, you heard nothing. Apart from snoring and the tears in the bathroom of course. And gossiping about people is hardly good. Also is this his way of trying to make you jealous? If so, that’s so petty, and shady. Never mind Rocco, Gary keeps sending you red flags._

“Would she be cool with you sharing that?” Alecto tried to subtly signal to Lottie her doubts about Gary’s comment, using only her eyes. Lottie’s expression remained blank, with no way of showing she picked it up. _Oh for goodness sake! Is everyone so oblivious here?_

“Marisol’s cool. I mean, it’s gonna be obvious with everyone sharing this room. Hardly private.” He said, looking oblivious.

“That’s nice and presumptuous of you…” There’s a clear bite to Lottie’s words. _Even Lottie is defending Marisol! Which, considering how they clash, is big._

Alecto sees Marisol emerge from under the covers. She rubs her eyes before fixing a frown at Gary.

“What are you talking about? It was just a small peck on the lips.” _Yep, that does make sense. He shouldn’t have lied, that was wrong of him._

“Oh, erm, it seemed like more to me…” Gary floundered, faced with his lie.

“How? It was just a little peck to say ‘goodnight’. I was just being friendly.” Marisol snapped, clearly fed up with his lie.

“Well it still felt special.” He protested.

“Well, I didn’t mean it to be a whole big deal.” Marisol replied, her voice softening slightly. _She’s definitely hurt about this. It’s subtle, but you can pick up the tells of her change in mood._

“You’re such a liar, Gary. It’s already hurt Hannah.” Lottie snapped, changing the subject. _She’s still upset about Hannah, clearly. Is first thing in the morning really the time to rehash this again? Hannah gave up on Noah and went for Gary, for some absurd reason._

“What are you talking about? I was always straight with her. Why are you even bringing this up?”Gary protested.

“It happened last night! You had the chance to save my friend!” _Gary was clearly more compatible with Marisol. Hannah’s mistake was hers, Gary shouldn’t be attacked for making a choice. No one appears to care about Marisol, apart from you. You very much do._

“If not Hannah it would have been Marisol.” Alecto replied, trying to end this. _You would definitely miss Marisol more. Hannah’s airy fairy ways weren’t your thing. She didn’t appear to like you that much either,your personalities completely clash._

“Thank you!” Gary sounded relieved for the interruption. Alecto found herself curling her hands into fists, the incoming argument was starting to grate on her. She usually had a bracelet or something to fiddle with to release her nervous energy. She messed with the ends of her hair, unable to keep still.

“Stay out of this, babe.” Lottie looked disappointed. _We’re allowed to have differing opinions. For goodness sake._

“Hold on, Lottie. If Gary hadn’t picked me, I’d have gone home…” Marisol trailed off, reiterating Alecto’s earlier statement. _Exactly. Lottie may not be best pleased, but oh well!_

Lottie’s face flushes.

“Look, I’m not saying I don’t want you here, babe. It’s just that Hannah and I were close! I just want my friend back!” _You’re her friend, too. Or do you not matter in this?_ Alecto curled her hair tight around her finger, the small amount of pain enough to ground her. She looked away from the fight, wishing she was somewhere else entirely.

“I still don’t get why you’re having a go at me. And now I have someone I actually want to get to know.” _Charming. Guess you know his real feelings, but that doesn’t make it hurt less. You’re now the second choice._

He splutters, and looks at Alecto.

“I mean, I _had_ someone I wanted to get to know, but she got taken off the table before I could choose!” _What is it then? Does he care about you or not? Playing with feelings isn’t nice._ She released her hair, curling her right hand into a tight fist instead. Her ears were ringing, making her feel like she was underwater.

Rocco stirs next to her. _Yay, another person! Hopefully he can shut it down._

“Whoa, dude. This is a really bad vibe to start the day with.” Rocco said, trying to calm down Gary.

“It’s Lottie who should calm down, mate.” Gary replied.

Marisol touches his arm. He shrugs it off.

“No! I’ve barely woken up and Lottie’s already on my case. At least Alecto’s on my side.”

He looks around the room, then stops frowning. A grin emerging on his face instead.

“Ha! It’s all bants anyway.”

He jumps up out of the bed and heads for the door.

“I’m gonna go lift something heavy.” He slams the door shut. For a moment, nobody speaks. 

“Well, that was awkward.” Bobby tried to break the tension.

“Yeah, it’s been less than a week and the energy in here is already completely out of whack.”

Rocco turns to Alecto.

“At least we have each other.”

“Thank goodness.” Her voice was soft and slightly shaky. She focused her attention on Rocco. He gives her a broad smile.

Hope and Noah sit up in bed, their backs rest against the headboard. They look like an old married couple.

“You alright, Marisol?” Noah asked.

Marisol wipes her cheek. For a brief second, she looks vulnerable.

“Of course I am...We knew the first dumping would be tough. It’s only natural that emotions are running high. I’m going to go get ready.” Her voice was softer than usual, this was clearly causing her problems.

She gets out of bed and heads to the bathroom.

“I hope she’s okay.” Hope looked concerned.

“I’m going to check on her.” Alecto stands and starts to make her way to the bathroom. She knocks the door with one hand and puts her ear to the door,moving away when she hears it click. She uncurled her hand when she got inside, shutting the door behind her. It kept stinging, she moved to the sink.

“Hey. Are you okay? I’m here if you need me.” Alecto looked up, noticing how Marisol stayed quiet, watching her carefully. She ran her hand under water to clean it, it was only a small cut. _You should be more careful, maybe have something you can mess with at all times. Hurting yourself just because you’re not comfortable with arguments is hardly productive._

The silence felt comfortable again, that was a good sign. She looked up, meeting Marisol’s eyes in the mirror. _She wasn’t there before! Has she just got no footsteps or something?_

“What happened to your hand?” Marisol’s voice was softer than usual, it felt like she was allowing herself to be vulnerable around her. 

“I just caught it on something. I’m fine, just very clumsy.” She broke eye contact with Marisol, looking down at her hand. _Hopefully she takes that as an excuse. You don’t particularly want to explain your whole thing about arguments and all of it._

“You don’t deserve to be someone’s second choice, you know. I know we don’t know each other well yet, but you still deserve better. It was also wrong of him to lie in the first place.” Alecto said, trying to fill the gap and change the subject from talking about her. She was still focusing her gaze on her hand. 

“Thank you for standing up for me earlier, and thank you for caring. It means a lot.” Alecto looked up again to meet Marisol’s eyes, they were slightly red rimmed from tears. She noticed the small smile on the other girl’s face, and surprising herself, pulled Marisol into a hug. They were close in terms of height, which meant the hug was more comfortable than with Lottie, Marisol only had 2 inches on her, if that much. _That’s 3 hugs! Who are you and what have you done with the real Alecto?_

She could hear sniffling, and tears, and noticed Marisol was crying into her shoulder. _You care so much about others, but you don’t ever care that much about yourself. You appear to be the one who ends up comforting people. Be careful, don’t let other people’s shit get you down._

She gently stroked Marisol’s back, hoping that it helped a little. Sometimes all people really needed was someone to be there for them, a personal connection. She was used to being that person, but it was difficult to detach herself from someone else’s emotions. Case in point now, she felt tears start to make their way from her eyes. She was known for being too empathetic sometimes, and the one who started crying when someone else would. 

Gary’s words from earlier kept replaying in her mind, and it was difficult to shut it off. _How does he really feel about both of you? What’s a lie, and what’s the truth? He could just be bad with words or there could be something behind it._

The hug lasted for longer than she expected, and she felt herself relax, until it went entirely silent again. 

“Umm...Alecto.” She heard Marisol say, in a tone she struggled to place. She released the hug and blushed.

“Sorry. Was that a little unexpected? Sorry.” She bit her lip before she apologised again. There was something about Marisol which caused her to go back in time and become the person who turned into a mess just because someone she had feelings for acknowledged her. _The same happened for Sophie. That definitely says something, it’s whether you pick it up too._

She felt the spark again, it was at the same strength but appeared to feel brighter in her hand.

“Do relationships need a spark to survive?” Marisol asked, holding out her hand to Alecto. She put her hand next to Marisol’s,noticing the small spark they both shared, which vanished pretty quickly. _Again, like Sophie. If the only reason you’ll realise what’s happening is to compare it to Sophie, go ahead. That’s definitely an example of a healthy relationship._

“Don’t apologise, I needed that. It was unexpected but a nice surprise.” Marisol’s hand reached up and wiped a tear from Alecto’s eyes. The contact made her lips form into a soft smile, this was new. Like falling in love again, which she supposed, that was what this was. 

“My emotions are a mirror of people I care about. I can’t help crying if someone who I care about is upset.” She explained. _Wait! Was that too much, too quickly, too soon? You can’t be sure._

Marisol returned her smile and they stood in silence until she heard a voice.

“Guys! You’ve been in here too long. Some of us need the bathroom too!”

_Whoops._

She moved to the door, holding it for Marisol and following behind her. She heard Rocco mention something about a brunch, but she didn’t hear fully. Her thoughts were whirling around in her head and she could do nothing else but smile. She got to the dressing room and got dressed on autopilot, not thinking about anything but Marisol and what just happened. She slid a bracelet on her wrist and left the dressing room.

She makes her way downstairs. Gary sat on the nearest sofa, his head bowed. He turns when she enters.

“Oh, hey!” He jumps up.

“Do you mind if I have a word with you?” He looks more serious than she’s seen him before. He’s about to say something when the other Islanders start making their way down the stairs.

“...in private. I’ll catch you after brunch, yeah?” _Sounds ominous. It’s likely about earlier, if so, don’t go easy on him. He definitely messed up this morning._

“But—“ 

Before she can answer, Rocco grabs her around the waist. 

“C’mon slow poke! It’s brunch time.” _Slow poke? You were the one waiting for him, not the other way around. And what’s with people and grabbing you? Not everyone is comfortable with physical contact, you’re definitely the type to only initiate it yourself instead of letting other people do that._

He leads her towards the lawn. She looks back at Gary. He winks at her.

Bobby and Priya squeal as they make their way outside. The lawn is laid out with gorgeously set tables for two. A buffet table laden with delicious pastries, cereals and fruit juices sits proudly above them. Gary seems to perk up at the sight of all the food.

“Yes, bruv! This is more like it.” Gary said.

“I like to experience a variety of foods. But I can’t start the day with anything too heavy...it upsets my stomach.” He scans the table and picks up a grapefruit, throwing it in the air and catching it before setting it back down.

“Perfect. Is there anything here you like the look of?” Rocco asked.

Alecto scanned the table, noticing a high stack of croissants. Her go to breakfast food was actually pancakes or bagels, but croissants would definitely do. 

“The croissants look good.” She said.

“Classic brunch food. A dollop of jam and you’re golden. Let’s grab some. I’m famished!” The two of you make your way up to the buffet table. Noah skirts around it, picking up a piece of everything.

Nearby, Marisol and Hope are whispering. It’s just loud enough for Alecto to hear…

“It’s only been an evening, babe.” Hope said.

The light breeze brought the words to Alecto’s ear. She wasn’t usually the type to eavesdrop, but this time it was difficult not to.

“I know, but I was expecting to feel something different...that certain _spark_ , you know?” Marisol made eye contact with her unexpectedly, and to her surprise the other girl was blushing. _Maybe she was thinking about earlier? Our matching sparks, and the strange feeling you couldn’t describe. She still looks sad, this situation with Gary is getting to her clearly._

“Oh, here’s Alecto.” Hope noticed her and turned to Marisol. “Do you want her take on it?”

Marisol turns to look at Alecto.

“Actually, can I get your opinion?” Her eyes look out over the arrangement of food before focusing back on Alecto.

“So with you and Rocco...are you feeling, you know… ‘the Spark’?” She was a little awkward in the delivery of her words, cutting herself off multiple times. Alecto noticed clear cracks in the mask she usually put up,her confidence broken.She looked uncertain, shifting from foot to foot occasionally. Her brown eyes were clouded with sadness, and something Alecto couldn’t put a finger on.

“Huh?”

“You know, that special something?” Marisol asked, trying to be clearer. _Hmm, now she mentioned it, you didn’t feel anything for Rocco. You were doubting even convincing him to choose you, in the first place. The only person, well, people, you felt anything like a spark for were Marisol and Lottie. The boys didn’t cause the same feeling within her, at all._

Hope cleared her throat, and Alecto snapped out of her head, scrambling to pull an answer together. She pushed her glasses back up her nose.

“No, I don’t think so…” her words trailed off. _It is a little unfair on Rocco, don’t you think? At the same time, you can’t be expected to pretend to be someone you’re not. That’s part of the reason the mess with Andromeda and Étienne even happened, not being able to stick up for yourself does you no favours._

“Maybe it’s not just me, then… I know it’s only been an evening, but I thought I’d feel something immediately. I mean, I didn’t feel it with Bobby. But I’ve not got it with Gary yet, either. And then he exaggerated about us making out last night…” she trailed off. For a small instant, a flicker of relief appeared in her eyes, but it was gone just as quickly. If Alecto had blinked, she would have missed it. _Maybe it’s comforting to have someone else feeling more insecure about their couple. That makes sense to you._

“What would his nan say?” Hope pointed out.

“Exactly. What do you think, Alecto?” Marisol watched her carefully. _The spark is definitely real. You’ve seen it with your own eyes._

“Without that spark, you’ve got problems.” She explained, keeping her words simple. _Which applies to you, too. But unlike her, you’re not letting it consume your every waking moment._

“You think?” Marisol checked.

“Unfortunately, yeah. That spark is how you _know_ you’re onto something. Without it, how can you be sure?” Her voice went softer. Discussing this was starting to cause her definite concerns, she was beginning to feel so guilty for giving up on Gary so easily. The smile vanished from her face, defaulting to her usual straight face.

“That’s what I was afraid of. I just thought things would feel different now that we’re with the people we want to be with. You know?” The sad look returned to her face. Alecto bit her lip, her words escaping from her grasp.

“I found Gary so hot before, and he seems super sweet. Why am I now not feeling it? I guess I should be getting back to him. I knew I could count on you for help.” A smile appeared on her face and she picked up two full plates of food and headed back to her table.

“Nicely put, Alecto. I didn’t mean to pry, but couldn’t help overhearing.” Noah said. _Where did he come from? Does he even have footsteps, he’s good at sneaking up on people!_

“Thanks, Noah.”

“Let’s get back to our brunch, hun.” Hope said. _At least they look stable in terms of couplings. That’s something._

The two of them walk back to their table together. Rocco comes over to her, his plate stacked high with grapefruit.

“I saw that you got sidetracked, so I picked up some croissants as well. Didn’t want you to miss out...Let’s sit down.”

The two of you make your way to an empty table by the pool and tuck into your food. At first, neither of you say anything, focusing instead on the brunch. Rocco shifts in his seat. He goes to speak, stops, then starts again.

“So tell me what it’s like being a student?” He asked. _He remembered!_

“I just finished med school, but being a student was thrilling but exhausting. No two days were ever the same, and while that sounds exciting...it can be really tiring. You have to keep on top of a lot of stuff to be a good doctor, I’m excited to progress to the next part of my career.” She explained. This was a good way to distract her whirring mind from the earlier conversation.

“That’s understandable. At least it sounded like you enjoyed it, and am excited to progress further. So few people seem to find the job they love...at least there’s always hobbies to keep you sane, right?” He said.

“Thank goodness… Anyway, enough about me. What’s your main goal in life?” She asked. She disliked the spotlight, she wasn’t one to relish in talking about herself.

“Wow, you ask the big stuff. What do you think it is?” He said. _Yep, that’s you in a nutshell. Interested in deep conversations and a disdain for small talk._ She scratched her chin in thought, easily spotting her answer.

“Freedom, and not having to decide.” She replied.

“I couldn’t have put it better myself. I don’t like holding myself back with rules and expectations... I see life as a road, you know? I’m just along for the journey. Maybe you’ll be there with me…” His voice took on a flirty tone.

_Now have a more silly one._

“What would you do with unlimited money?” She asked.

“Take a guess.” He replied.

“Easy. Never stop travelling.” She said confidently, not even needing to think about that one. _Just because you know him doesn’t mean he also knows you that well. Marisol and Lottie, maybe Hope, would be more likely to give truthful answers if you asked them to answer those questions for you._

“That’s the dream. But I’d like to find a way that makes it possible without having to use money. So many dead trees…” _Hang on. Trees? That so isn’t right._

“I don’t think money’s made from trees.” She pointed out.

“Oh… Wow...you really seem to know me.” _You’re good at reading people accurately, that’s all it is._

He shifts in his seat and fiddles with his fork before speaking again.

“Alright, I’ve got one...you know people get that feeling when they’re with the right person?” He asked. _Uh oh. You can either lie or be somewhat truthful without being overly rude._

“Funny, I was talking about ‘the spark’ with Marisol earlier.” She said.

“Oh, right. Well...do you think we have it? Or something like it?” _And here it is. Moment of truth._

“It’s too early to tell.” She said, not meeting his eyes and fiddling with the bracelet on her wrist.

“No problem. I’m willing to give you the time you need…” Rocco puts his food down and rests his chin against his hands.

“Actually, I do have one more question for you...what drew you to me? Like, why did you ask me to pick you? You seemed pretty happy about it last night.” _Oh no. Do a half truth again._

“I‘m not sure yet.” He didn’t appear to read the lie on her face, which was funny as people would always say how much she sucked at lying.

“That’s fair. I guess we’ll both see if it’s meant to be.”

She looks around at the other couples. Noah and Hope are feeding each other with their forks. Gary and Marisol don't appear to be talking much. Gary sees her looking and gives her another wink. She carries on looking around at the other couples. Priya appears to be carrying the conversation with Ibrahim.

“Ibrahim really needs to come out of his shell soon…”

Lottie can’t seem to take a bite of food without almost spitting it out with laughter. She turns back to the gaze of Rocco.

“I’m glad we got to do this. It’s been good to get to know you better. Wouldn’t you say so?” _Well, it was mostly you knowing him well. You’re still an enigma he hasn’t cracked the code of._

“I think this was a great date.” She replied.

“I’m glad you agree. I think you and I may have something really special.” The two of you spend the rest of brunch idly chatting.

She’s lounging on one of the sun beds, watching Rocco float on the surface of the pool. Her full stomach and the Spanish heat soon have her dozing off. Until something blocks out the sun. She looks up and sees Gary standing over her. There’s a strained smile on his face.

“Remember earlier when I said I wanted to chat? Well, is now a good time?” He asked. _Right. Let’s see what this is about._

“Of course I’ll chat with you.” She replied.

“Great!” He looks around at the snoozing Islanders.

“I’d like to do it somewhere a little more private, though. I’m not one for secrets, but I can’t have the others hear us.” He scans the Villa, but there’s Islanders in every corner. Gary cracks a smile.

“Fancy a quick workout in the gym?” _We just had brunch! Is this his idea of a joke? Or, hang on, because everyone just had food, there’s a significant chance of it being empty. So he’s not being a total idiot then._

She snapped out of her thoughts and gave him a sceptical look.

“...Sure?”

She makes her way there. _And it’s empty! Perfect._

Gary looks her over, testing out a few different sets of dumbbells.

“Alright, get on the bench. I’ll give you a brief workout while we chat.” _You can do it yourself, you’re very much capable. Just because you’re small and dainty doesn’t mean you need people doing everything for you, you hate the stereotypes._

She positions herself on the bench.

“I know how to work out. Just spot me.” She replied, unable to hide the slight bite to her words.

“Oh, fair enough!” He hands her the weights and keeps an eye on her form. 

“So what’s the matter, Gary?” She asked. _It must be about earlier, right?_

“It’s about Marisol... I know I got hot-headed this morning. I’m worried I’ve made a right fool of myself.” _He can’t even make up his mind. First, saying Marisol is his second choice, which is rude in the first place, then realising you weren’t his first choice either. He’s not exactly making either of you feel wanted, but at least he apologised to Marisol. You wish he’d apologise to you. It hurt.You’re not used to actually having people care enough to apologise, so you shouldn’t expect it._

She realised she had been quiet for too long again, and scrambled to answer. Gary was shifting from foot to foot, watching her carefully.

“You also lied about kissing her.” She pointed out, looking directly at him with a hint of anger in her eyes. _Wow. You really care about her, huh? You’re defending her in the way you used to do for Sophie._

For a moment, Gary stares off into the distance. He stops guiding her arms.

_Looks like you hit a nerve, anyway._

“Yeah, that wasn’t on.”

“Why’d you do it?” She watched him carefully with a furrowed brow, and bit her lip. She wasn’t usually the confrontational type of person, but for some reason, all that was flung out of the window if she cared for someone.

“I honestly don’t know. I really like Marisol...Um...sorry. I still would have picked you if I could have. Anyway... I was so happy when I got to pick her, and then we were in bed...she wasn’t interested in doing anything, but I kept hearing the others. I guess I just wanted to believe that we’d had more than a little peck.” _Seriously! Excuses, excuses! Whatever spark you two had prior to this doesn’t matter. Maybe you’re not the right person for Rocco, but he’s definitely better than Gary is currently._

“What you did was out of order, Gary. That can have a big impact on a girl in here. You have to apologise to Marisol.” Her voice was icy cold, and she maintained eye contact with him throughout her little speech, to prove how serious she was.

“...You’re right. I was a complete arse. I’ll tell her sorry next time I see her. Promise.”

She continues with some more reps before Gary speaks up again.

“Do you know how Marisol is feeling about me and her? She was really quiet at the brunch. It got awkward.” _Hmm. Should you mention the conversation you had with her? Not the bathroom one, but the other one._

“She said she wasn’t feeling a spark.”

Gary whistles through his teeth.

“That bloody spark. You know, that’s not the first time a woman’s said that about me. What even is it? And how do I change it?” _A spark can’t be created through ulterior motives. It either exists organically and is built on until it becomes larger due to the intensity of both sets of feelings, it exists but doesn’t grow or it isn’t there to begin with. Sometimes a spark lies dormant for a while as both people are too oblivious to notice and you stay friends for a while, like you and Sophie.That relationship took a while to bring fruit, but it was worth it in the long run._

She snapped out of her thoughts again. She kept zoning out and having to heavily plan her words. _Yup, that’s a sign and a half. You don’t do that as much with Rocco, Lottie or Marisol, so maybe give Rocco a proper chance?_

“You can’t _make_ the spark happen, Gary. Like all things, it takes time. But not lying about doing bits would be a good start.” 

“Oh well... I appreciate your honesty either way. We should probably be getting back to the others. They’ll get suspicious otherwise.” _He better not be flirting! Now’s so not the time!_

He leans over to help her lower the weights to the ground. 

“My mind’s a mess right now.” Gary sets the weights down and helps her up.

“Thanks for the chat, though. It gave me some things to think through...First the Hannah situation, then Lottie gets in my head...you tell me Marisol isn’t feeling that spark. What a mess.” Gary sighs.

“C’mon. Let’s get out of here.”

The two of you walk back in silence. She takes up her position on the sun lounger.

_Wow. Now your head’s a mess too. You don’t know how to process any of this, or even make it make sense._


	11. Chapter 11

Hope drops her voice to a whisper.

“This morning was such a treat. Noah and I had the best brunch. How does everyone else feel it went?” Hope asked.

“Mine went as you would expect. You know Bobby - a joke a minute. I just wish he’d get over this whole ‘I’m only looking for friends’ thing. This is _Love_ Island.”

Lottie replied. _So no sparks there then. What’s so wrong with friends anyway? Isn’t it better to be in a stable friendship couple than not even have the security of that? You really don’t know what you even feel about anything, anymore. The Lottie kiss scrambled your brain, your feelings for Rocco and Gary are confusing and Marisol is so difficult to read! She appears different when it’s just the two of you though._

To her surprise, despite her zoning out for a bit, she still was able to hear the conversation. It was a job to stay focused currently.

“Yeah, I’d say he uses that and his humour as a defence.” Marisol pointed out. _She appears a little better now, less like this whole situation is eating her up. Or she might be good at masking it. Which is another similarity to you._

“It’s more for his sake. I like him as a friend, but I want him to find someone he can get close to.” Lottie explained.

The other girls nod in agreement.

“That’s fair. How was your brunch, Priya?” Hope asked. _Wow, it obviously went well, she looks radiant._

“We had a great time, too. Ibrahim tried to compliment me...I think? He ended up comparing me to poached eggs. He said it’s because they’re perfect. Then got really quiet. It was cute.” _Aww. You just had to deal with Rocco asking your questions back to you and not having much interest in you as a person. So pretty much everyone had a better date._

“Classic Ibrahim.” Hope said.

“How about you, Alecto?” Marisol asked, watching her carefully. _Does she know something? She can’t know about the Lottie kiss, right? Everyone else was asleep._

“So-so.” She said, keeping it short. _They don’t need to know the full details. It wasn’t entirely bad, but it wasn’t that great. It was awkward if anything._

Marisol made eye contact with her before moving to stand next to her, sliding an arm around her shoulders without being asked. Just that small amount of contact was comforting enough, she felt her racing heartbeat start to level. _Sophie_ _could also do that. Just a simple touch was enough to prevent an anxiety attack or to keep you calm._

“It’s awkward being shoved into a date like that, and only after an evening of being coupled up. Hopefully you two will hit it off soon. I don’t know where I am with Gary. The brunch was okay, but I don’t have strong feelings for him...that spark just isn’t there.” She said. Alecto noticed how the expression from earlier was back on her face. _Yup, it’s still eating her up._

She looks at Alecto.

“And you told me how important it is. I’m inclined to agree.” _That’s definitely an issue with you, too. With Rocco and that mess, which you’re still uncertain if it was a good idea or not, and your sparks with Lottie and Marisol. You could do with a chat with someone who isn’t involved in your mess. Or is it better to keep it hidden and try not to explode?_

“Yeah, dead on. That spark is fate letting you know it’s knocking. When you feel it, you know you’ve found the one.” Lottie replied. Alecto looked up in that moment and made eye contact with her, looking away quickly and fiddling with her bracelet, hoping she wasn’t blushing. _You’re very screwed then. You have a family of sparks, some you’re ignoring and hoping they snuff themselves out. It’s so easy for some people, they find their spark, then their soulmate so easy! Try to be as natural as possible, so they don’t pick up that something’s up._

“Do you feel it with Bobby, Lottie?” Marisol asked. She still looked off, her arm had moved from Alecto’s shoulders.

“It’s strange...There’s _something_ there. I just can’t place what. When I think of him in a romantic way, it just feels...wrong?” Lottie said.

“Maybe it’s more of a good friendship forming?” Hope said.

“Maybe. I’m hoping we figure it out soon.”Lottie said, her expression blank. _She’s not as easy to read currently. Hmmm, what’s happened there?_

The text chime brought her out of her head. _You’re not zoning out as frequently. Why’s that?_

“Oh! I’ve got a text!” Marisol sounded surprised.

“Boys! We have a text!” Hope called out. _Wow, she’s loud._

The boys climb out of the pool and come running over.

“What’s it say?” Gary asked.

“Islanders! It’s time to see your true colours-who’s squeaky clean and who’s down for getting dirty.” Marisol read out.

“I’m always down for getting dirty…”Priya sounded very flirty.

“It’s going to be a gross-out challenge.” Noah said.

“Are they going to make us swap food from our mouths or something?” Rahim looked like a kicked puppy at the mere suggestion of it. _Ew! Yup, that’s definitely not good._

“What’s wrong with that?”Bobby looked excited. _Is he kidding? So, so much wrong with that idea!_

“Are you serious?” Ibrahim looked at Bobby with amazement.

“Seems efficient! Cuts down on the chewing.” _And he’s being serious! Come on._

“Nope! Not having this discussion…” The conversation is interrupted by another text chime.

“Another text? Read it, Marisol.” Hope said

“P.S The winner of this challenge will get to choose someone to share some luxury ice lollies with.” Marisol said. 

“Yes!” Bobby pumped a fist in the air.

“That’s it, I’m winning this one.” Priya said. _Not if you can help it!_

“I’m so winning this. I hope they’re like the ones that have sorbet on the outside and ice-cream in the middle!” _Wow. You must have been possessed. Or Quinn is pretending to be you, she does have fun trying to confuse people, given how you’re twins. You get bad headaches from ice cream or ice lollies,don’t forget that! Don’t get so desperate to cool down that you turn yourself into an anxious potato because of headache reasons, and don’t let your competitive spirit take you over!_

“Oh, just imagine...whoever thought of those is a genius.” Bobby licked his lips. 

“C’mon, let’s quit gabbing and get ready to win! I want those lollies.” Gary said.

She arrives at the Challenge Stage. On the right are large buckets filled with different coloured slime. Each bucket has a boy’s name on it. On the left are see-through jugs with the girls’ names on them. And in between them is a large paddling pool.

“You ever arrive at a place and suddenly get that, ‘this ain’t gonna end well’ feeling?” Gary grimaced, looking at the set up.

“I’ve got a text! Islanders, in today’s challenge the girls need to find their perfect match! Boys - you will each be covered in a different colour slime. Girls - you will need to create a new colour, by mixing the slime from two of the boys, and getting it into your jugs. You must do this without using your hands. The Girl whose slime most closely resembles their assigned colour will win the challenge and the ice lollies.”

She read out. _Maybe losing this one would be good? Otherwise it’ll be a waste of an ice lolly. It could easily be worse, but slime is still somewhat slimy. No shit, of course it’s slimy!_

“Slime? Really?” Ibrahim stared at the challenge stage.

“Did they make this challenge just for Bobby?” Gary asked.

“It’s like they read my mind.” Bobby looked delighted.

“This is going to be awful. My rows… I’ll never get this stuff out of them.” Ibrahim looked very miffed. _This is far from your ideal situation._

“Oh, don’t be such a diva, Ibrahim! I can’t wait to jump into this!” Priya and Bobby both had mirrored expressions of delight.

“Any opportunity to grind up against the boys…” Lottie mumbled. Alecto watched carefully for the signs of a fight. _What is her problem? She keeps attacking Priya for no reason. You’re a little wary of her yourself, but you’d never be rude to her face._

“What was that?” Priya clearly heard Lottie’s comment. _Hopefully someone steps in before this goes south._

“Moving swiftly on…” Hope said.

“Let’s get started.” Noah finished her sentence.

The boys take their places in the giant paddling pool with their partners close behind.

“You know, this isn’t the first time I’ve been covered in slime. But last time was more cleansing…”Rocco said.

“Like, in one of those exotic sulphur mud baths?” Alecto asked for confirmation.

“What? No, I mean when I was getting my van cleaned and accidentally got covered in this strange cleaning agent. My skin squeaked for, like, a week…” _Okayy. That’s definitely not a regular experience then._

Before she second guessed it, Alecto grabbed the slime bucket and tipped it directly over him while he was distracted.

“Agh!” Rocco looked surprised, she’d caught him off guard.

The rest of the girls pour their partners’ slime over them before moving over to the measuring jugs. Noah and Gary are red, Rocco and Ibrahim are blue and Bobby stands alone in yellow.

Alecto hears her phone chime and checks it. _Purple. Okay._

“We all got our colours?” Lottie asked.

The other girls nod. _Prepare for utter chaos!_

“Get ready ladies…” Priya licks her lips.

“That’s the signal… Charge!” Hope called out.

“Careful!” Ibrahim warned.

Alecto takes a running start and jumps, thinking it’ll send her sliding across the pool...instead, she comes to a stop.

“The floor isn’t slippery enough!” _That could easily have gone worse. Please try and avoid injuries!_

She watches as the other girls reach the boys.

“Steady,lads...here they come!” Gary said.

An almighty wet slap thunders across the paddling pool as bodies collide in an explosion of goop.

“This stuff feels worse than it looks.” Hope glared.

“It’s in my mouth!” Marisol protested. _Oh dear. Mind out for slime explosions please._

“Nope! Not getting more of this stuff on me.” Ibrahim jumps out of the way.

Rocco stands in a starfish pose with his eyes closed.

“This is gonna be fun.” Rocco had a flirty expression on his face. _Really? Not him, too. At least Ibrahim agrees with you here._

“C’mon, ladies. I’m up for grabs!” Bobby grinned.

She sees Marisol running for Rocco, she gives chase and runs over to him. He’s still standing in his starfish pose.

“Do what you want with me, babe.” He looked delighted about the situation.

“You’re such a freak…”Gary eyes Rocco suspiciously.

She rubs her chest against Rocco’s. He folds his arms around her, pulling her into an embrace.

“Careful! I can’t use my hands, babe.” She pointed out. _Nope, no spark at all. You’re not being oblivious, there’s genuinely nothing there._

“Isn’t that a shame?” His flirtatious tone remains.

After a few moments, she’s covered in his slime.

“I didn’t realise you were so talented. Maybe we should go somewhere private later?” He offered. _That’s awkward. What to do, what to do?_

“Maybe you’ll get more later.” She replied, trying to manifest a spark. _You don’t want to step on someone’s toes, so you’re pretty stuck. Oh no, not toes again._

“I’ll be counting the minutes…” He trailed off. _Steady on now!_

“Nice work! Your man can’t stop grinning.” Marisol looked at her, impressed. She felt something flutter in her stomach.

To the left and right of her the other Islanders are sliding around on each other. Hope’s already covered from head to toe in Noah’s colour, but she carries on anyway. She sees Marisol rubbing up against Gary. It seems more functional than fun.

“I’m well into these sorts of challenges.” Gary said. _Really! Didn’t seem so earlier._

Marisol winces, hesitating. _Yup, she’s not enjoying this, at all. They’re not going to last, at all._

“I need some blue.” She steps away from him, moving towards Rocco.

“I take it you need some of this?” He gestures to the slime on his chest. Marisol smiles, visibly more relaxed. _Ooh, maybe she’d be better suited to him than you are. You don’t want a fight, so stay with Rocco._

“Back for more so soon? I want to see some new moves!” He looked delighted.

She starts to slowly shimmy up and down his body. Rocco pulls her into a tight embrace and follows her movements. Through the slime, she feels his taut muscles flex.

“This challenge is amazing.”

Before he gets any ideas, she walks away from him, leaving him for the others…

“You go girl! That was hot stuff.” Marisol gave her a warm smile, which distracted her so much she took a step back, slipped on some slime, and fell straight into Marisol.

_Oh sugar! Your clumsy genes strike again._

“Getting kinda close there!” Marisol’s grin only grew, and Alecto’s cheeks felt warm. She started to move her hips up against Marisol’s…

“Ooh,you’re a cheeky one.” She follows suit. The two of you can’t hold back the laughter.

“I haven’t done this with a friend since uni!” She sashays back towards the main group. Alecto’s heartbeat thundered in her ears, and she was unable to stop blushing. She opened her palm to spot a gentle golden spark buzzing gently until it vanished. _There’s so something there! Also she sees you like a friend, which is great. There’s your spark, you won’t get that with Rocco._

Before she moves, she looks back over to the boys who have mostly been left on their own. 

She pushed her glasses up her nose, and ran back to her assigned jug, covered in slime.

From the corner of her eye, she spots Priya walking up to Noah and pressing herself against him. Hope doesn’t seem to notice. She’s too preoccupied filling her jug. _Drama is definitely looming!_

Lottie rolls her eyes and looks around at the girls.

“What did I say about her?”

“What?”

Hope turns around. Her face flushes red when she spots Priya and Noah.

“What the hell is this? You don’t need red to make green.” Hope snapped. _Indeed, you definitely don’t. That was sneaky of Priya._

“Oh! I’m,uh,not so good with colours…” She floundered, trying to explain. _If you’re going to lie, make it a good one! That’s not convincing in the slightest._

“Don’t play innocent. You totally just wanted to stick it on him while Hope had her back turned.” Lottie replied, shooting Priya a vicious glare. _No point joining in with this._

Alecto fiddled with her bracelet, watching them warily. She didn’t want a fight.

“Stick it on him?” Priya stood her ground.

“You heard me.” Lottie replied, her voice icy cold.

“What about you? You still had to rub up against some of the boys!” Priya pointed out.

“Yeah, and I went for the ones that I needed and that’s all.”Lottie said. _True. You only went for Rocco yourself to avoid a fight. Well,and Marisol. Lottie does have a kind of point, but you shouldn’t get involved with this._

“I thought I _did_ need his colour!” Priya protested. _If she’s going to graft on Noah, why not own up to it instead of sticking to this lie? You think you’re a bad liar but even you can come up with something better than this._

“That’s what you keep saying, and that’s what I’ll keep on not believing.” Lottie said. 

“Oh, whatever…”Priya walks back to the girls, avoiding eye contact with Lottie. _Thankfully that’s over. Lottie might try and bring it up again though. How to get the slime off you without using hands? Hang on, it didn’t specify whose hands._

“Babe! Quick, get this slime off me!” Rocco makes his way over to her.

“Hang on, the text said we couldn’t use hands…” Hope pointed out.

“It said we couldn’t use _our_ hands…” she pointed out, smirking at Hope. _The thing about being precise and good at picking stuff up is that you frequently notice what other people don’t. The finer details of life are clearer to you._

“Why didn’t I think of that?” Marisol said, watching her with a raised eyebrow.

“My my...aren’t you a filthy one?” Rocco wipes the slime off her body and into the jug. _Was that an attempt at flirting? Think so._

“I got a text! Hope, as the Islander with the most slime that closest resembles your assigned colour, you win today’s challenge and the ice lollies.” Hope said. _Excellent. No ice cream headache for you then._

“Well done, babe!” Noah embraces Hope and gives her a slimy smooch. _Ew! It doesn’t look like the slime tastes that good._

“Bleugh! Wait till we’ve showered.” Hope pointed out, screwing up her face slightly.

“I’ll try…” Noah gives her a flirty look.

The other Islanders clap, sending more slime flying.

“Right, sod being covered in this stuff any longer. To the showers!” Gary said. _Yup! Finally someone’s a little sensible here._

“Do you girls see what I’m talking about now? With Priya, I mean.” Lottie said, looking like she had a bone to pick again. _If Priya hears this, it’ll kick off again._

Alecto messed with her bracelet again, watching Lottie carefully.

“I really think she just got confused, babe.” Marisol said, clearly trying to prevent everything from kicking off again.

“I wonder whether Ibrahim sees it that way. Maybe I should ask him?” _She’s not dropping it. Doing that without Hope’s permission isn’t a good idea though._

“What does Hope think? It involves her partner as well…”Alecto said, her eyes moving to find Hope.

“Please don’t, hun. It’s only going to cause problems.” Hope looked a little miffed at Lottie for pressing this issue.

“Please, I’m solving this problem.” Lottie had a smirk on her face. _Does drama really cause her to thrive this much?_

“Lottie...I’m asking as a friend.” Hope asked. _She wants to shut this down, like you do._

“Wait, are you invoking…” Lottie looked surprised.

“Girl Code?Yes.” Hope finished Lottie’s sentence.

“Dammit! Fine…” Lottie looked a little fed up at being asked to stay out of the drama. _One plus to this is that it prevents you focusing on your mess, and your… um… situation, as you still have no clue and it’s starting to majorly get to you._

“How about you, Marisol? Did you enjoy the challenge?” Hope asked, changing the subject.

“Yes and no. Getting up close with Gary was a little awkward. Rocco was a lot more fun with it all.” Marisol clasps her hands over her mouth. She turns to Alecto.

“I didn’t mean anything by that!” _You’re not entirely vibing with Rocco yourself though. It’s not too big a deal._

Lottie huffs and flicks her hair. _She better not get involved with this. You can handle it yourself._

“It’s fine, hun. It’s just a challenge and I’m not exactly vibing with him myself. The same is true for the rest of the boys so that does leave me in a tight spot.” She explained, her lips forming a wide smile.

“I’m glad you think so. You’ll probably work it out eventually.” She reached out and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. Something fluttered deep down again, and she felt a strange warmth she couldn’t place. _It’s not actually strange, now is it? Sophie definitely caused the same emotions in you._

Hope springs in between her and Marisol.

“And was it just me or did I see you and Alecto getting up and close, Marisol?” She teased.

Marisol blushes and looks over to her, giving her hand another squeeze. Alecto’s cheeks feel hot and flushed again, and she knows she’s blushing. Her freckles stood out even more on her face.

“Well, what can I say? It was chaos up there.” Marisol gave Alecto a flirty smile, somehow causing her to blush even more. She was stunned into silence, unable to do anything apart from stare into space with a wistful smile as she started to slip away into a daydream. She felt Marisol’s hand slip away from hers. _Maybe your clumsiness has its benefits, huh?_

“In any case,I’ve been covered in this muck for too long now. Time for a shower.” Hope said, looking delighted.

Alecto follows the girls back inside the Villa, walking behind and feeling so dazed. _Maybe a nice lie down is due after your shower? You could do with a nap._


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for 500 hits! It might seem small, but it means a lot to me! You can find me at bubblelaureno on Tumblr, Twitter and Instagram and at narcissasdaffodil on Reddit. Feel free to send me stuff and let me know what you think, feedback is amazing!

Hope is doing Marisol’s hair in the middle of the room.

“I don’t know about anyone else here, but I feel like going all out tonight. You girls should do the same.” Hope had a warm smile on her face. _You’re really not the type to dress up and go all out. You’re usually the observer in the background. Also you didn’t manage a nap which means your head is so swimmy with everything that’s going on, and you’re tired._

“I was thinking I’d chill.” Alecto said, fiddling with the end of her braid.

“Really? That’s so unlike you. Tonight’s a big night, babes! This is your first evening in your new couples. Now’s the time to put in the effort. And I want Noah’s jaw to hit the floor when he sees me.” Hope explained.

Alecto had a look through her wardrobe, picking something at random and disappearing behind a screen. She sorted out her hair once she reappeared, leaning on the dressing table with one hand while releasing her hair from the tight braid with the other. Her natural waves were even more pronounced as a result, meaning she wouldn’t require much extra styling. She watched herself carefully in the mirror, trying to capture a thought or something to prevent everything from feeling so out of control. It didn’t feel real, and she was having a hard time believing it was, never mind the recent mess she had to deal with. _You can’t continue overthinking everything, you’ll eventually snap at the pressure of it._

Priya does a little flourish as she finishes applying her makeup.

“Not gonna lie... I really love this look.” Priya grinned.

“You could steal a thousand hearts looking like that!” Marisol said. Alecto looked up and caught Marisol’s eye in the mirror, unaware how she had moved that quickly. She looked away, messing with her bracelet to shift some nervous energy.

“As if that’s not your intention.” Lottie snapped. _Not this, again._

Priya shoots Lottie a pointed look.

“You got something to say, Lottie?” Priya said.

“I already said it, babe.” Lottie continues applying her makeup. The atmosphere in the room turns noticeably frosty. _Oh no. There’s going to be another argument, again._

“No, not this time. You don’t get to insult me and walk off again.” Priya snapped back. Alecto messed with her bracelet again, clutching it so tight that it left a mark in her palm. She kept facing the mirror, biting her lip. 

“Guys…” Marisol tried to smooth things over.

Lottie quickly puts down her eyeliner and stands up.

“Walk off? Since when do I do that? I’ve always been open about what I think of you.” Lottie replied, her words having a definite bite.

“And I usually ignore it, but not this time. You’ve been making snide, childish comments about me all day.” Priya replied, looking upset.

“Childish? I’m 24, babe.” Lottie snapped. _It’s true. She’s using any excuse she can to lash out at Priya._

“Then act like it!” Priya snapped back. _This might backfire on you, but maybe try to calm this a bit?_

“You both need to calm down. We’re only four days in.” Alecto said, her voice slightly softer than usual. The argument was majorly starting to grate on her, she was trying her hardest to not get lost in past memories, but this entire situation was bringing her straight back to Andromeda and that mess. It felt like she was fourteen again and the last ten years hadn’t happened.

“Yeah, let’s all just simmer down.” Hope joined in, echoing the sentiment.

“I’m sorry, what? Have we all just skipped over the fact she swooped in and stole Gary from Alecto? It happened last night!” Lottie said. _Please don’t pull you into this. Please don’t._ She tapped her hand on the dressing table nervously, usually repetitive noise irritated her but she could ignore it this once. She kept her back to the argument, hoping she wouldn’t get pulled into it.

“What did you think I was going to do? I had to choose someone. And I was honest about my intentions the entire time.” Priya replied, glaring at Lottie. _She did tell you. But why she chose Gary of all people would definitely be a mystery, considering how she appeared to have more chemistry with Noah and Ibrahim._

It fell silent, and she realised everyone was waiting for her response.

“I’m better suited with Rocco.” Alecto said, maintaining a softer tone and putting all her energy into making sure her voice didn’t shake. _A slight lie, but no one will call you out on it. Hopefully anyway._

“That doesn’t matter, babe. She still shouldn’t have taken your man.” Lottie replied, looking disappointed. _Does she expect you to be exactly like Hannah? Agreeing with her every move and becoming her shadow? She can be disappointed then, as that will never be you or who you are._

“I had to make a choice, and at least I was upfront about it.” Priya explained, looking downcast. _Somehow you’ve upset both of them. Nice work._

“So that makes it okay? ‘Yeah, she stabbed me in the back, but it’s all fine because she told me she was gonna do it first?’ Lottie snapped back. _She’s annoyed on your behalf, it appears. You’ve got bigger fish to fry than that, though._

“That’s not how stabbing someone in the back works. You’re so pig-headed, Lottie. Your sense of ‘girl code’ is so messed up that you don’t realise that you’re breaking it.” Priya said in response. _Does she know about the kiss? She can’t do! But suspecting everyone of knowing is hardly going to do you any favours, you’re just provoking your anxiety for fun at this point._

“You’re saying I’m breaking girl code?” Lottie snapped back.

“I’m a girl. I came in on the same day as you all did, just a little later. And out of everyone, you’ve been the worst.” Priya explained. _Okay, that makes sense. See, not about the kiss! Keeping that secret is definitely going to eat you up._

“I don’t think it’s possible to be worse than you, babe.” Lottie replied with a bite to her words.

“Can we all just calm down?” Hope replied.

“Yeah, seriously,don’t say anything else that you’ll regret later.” Marisol tried to smooth it over, placing a gentle hand on Alecto’s shoulder. _She must’ve noticed how tense you are, she’s good at reading you._ She didn’t even realise her hand was gripping her bracelet so tightly until Marisol took hold of her hand and helped her loosen her grip, linking hands with her instead. She focused on the smell of Marisol’s perfume and tried to stabilise herself, which was coming so quickly. She felt the warmth of the spark again, feeling the warm buzz. _Wow. She must be magic, or something. Sophie was the only other person who could do this so well, and that quickly._

“But that is exactly what I’m talking about. Face it, Lottie, you break the girl code all the time.” Priya replied.

“What?” Lottie’s green eyes were so bright, they practically gave off sparks.

“You form little cliques, thinking it’s for the good of your girls, but all you really want is to control everyone. You’ve done it in here, and I guarantee that you do it on the outside, too.” Priya explained.

“How dare you!” Lottie raised her voice. Alecto flinched, her eyes widening. She pushed her glasses up her nose, and felt Marisol squeeze her hand again. _She likely felt you flinch there. She’s very perceptive._

“Both...both of you need to calm down…” her voice trailed off at the end, it getting gradually softer. She tripped over her words to begin, finding it hard to make shaky words more stable.

“Yeah, listen to Alecto. You’re both in the wrong!” Hope agreed with her.

“I’m done with this.” Lottie storms out of the dressing room and makes her way downstairs.

“There you go again — walking off!” Priya pursues Lottie, leaving just Alecto,Hope and Marisol in the dressing room.

“We should follow them. Once this is settled, can you find me for a chat, Alecto? I want to make sure you’re okay, it seems like there’s something wrong.” Hope said, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. She looked up at Hope in surprise. _Wow. Both of them picked up that something’s wrong. That’s unexpected._

“What about my hair?” Marisol asked. _She completely forgot about it to help you! That’s definitely a good friend, right there._

“It’s already done, babes.” Hope said, giving her a warm smile.

The three of them make your way downstairs.

Bobby is stood next to Gary, a pristine, towering sandwich sits proudly on display in front of him. In front of Gary is a collapsed mess of bread and meat.

“I still don’t get how you make it balance like that!” Gary stared at Bobby’s sandwich.

“You’ll get there, mate. Just keep practising.” Bobby encouraged him. _Yeah, practise does make perfect. You were useless at sandwiches to begin with too._

“Leave me alone!” Lottie snapped.

“Woah! What’s happening?” Gary asked, looking even more confused.

“Priya, that’s what.” Lottie replied. _You might not be Priya’s biggest fan, but this situation isn’t exactly her fault._

“There you go again! You straight up blame me and make me look like the baddie, but you’re the one who can’t go two minutes without getting salty.” Priya said. 

Gary goes to grab the loaf of bread, but Lottie swats it away by accident as she dismisses Priya’s comment.

“Wait, so who should I be cheering for?” Bobby asked. _There’s already too many cooks in this kitchen._

“Me, babe!” Lottie glared at him for even implying he wouldn’t support her.

“Don’t encourage them…” Hope replied, trying to calm the fight.

“Neither, they’re both being ridiculous.” Her voice was still softer than usual, and she cleared her throat in the hope she would snap out of this.

“What’s Lottie actually done?” Gary tries to grab his butter knife, but Priya slams her palm on the counter, causing it to bounce onto the floor. Gary tuts.

“You’re saying you haven’t noticed? How about making salty comments whenever I’m around? And heaven forbid I try to say anything!” Priya replied. _This has gone on for far too long already. It’s still not your job to sort other people’s messes out though._

“I just tell it like it is, babes.” Lottie replied, glaring back at Priya.

“I’m gonna need more than that to go on, Priya.” Gary said. 

“Why should I have to justify anything? As if you haven’t noticed.” Priya looked sad, Lottie’s interrogation was obviously getting to her.

“Both of you, cool it! You need to get some space from each other. You’ve argued enough.” Her voice was still quieter than usual, and she messed with her bracelet. _It’s going to take until this calms down for you to calm down too. Just be more careful than you usually would with words, use your word planning tactics. Make sure to be more measured and slower than usual, if it means your words won’t get the better of you. That’ll sort one issue but do nothing for the rest of it._

“Yeah, seriously. I just want to make my sandwich.” Gary sighed. _He seriously wants to escape this so quickly, wow. You’re not going to judge, as you want to escape from all of it yourself._

“I’m going, anyway. I need to be on my own.” Lottie said, looking disappointed. _Is it partly because you won’t agree with her on everything? If so, that’s a little immature of her._

“Don’t bother. I’m leaving, too.” Priya snapped in response. _Joy! They’ll have another argument about wanting to leave first now, just watch._

“Well I’m leaving before you!” Lottie snapped in response.

The two girls turn on their heels to go. Lottie stomps upstairs. Priya saunters onto the lawn.

“Well, that was a thing that happened.” Bobby said, making an attempt to lighten the mood. 

“It’s only day four in here! I’m not having this kind of thing kick off already. We need to get those two to see eye-to-eye as soon as possible.” Hope turns to face Alecto. 

“Sorry, Alecto, I think you’re the best person to do this. They might actually listen to you. I know you struggle with dealing with this kind of thing, and I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t need a hand with this. I’m going to find Priya. Try and sort Lottie out, okay? Let me know how it goes. We do need to catch up when all this is smoothed over, okay?” Hope walks out the same way Priya left. Marisol shoots Alecto an apologetic look before following Hope across the lawn. _Oh great. At least Hope was good about the way she asked you, though. Being level headed and calmer sometimes has its downfalls. But at least this means you can have a distraction from your own stuff._

“Drama much! Sorry you’re caught up in the middle of it, Alecto. I’ll see if I can track down Rocco and give him a heads up if you need him.” Bobby said, looking apologetic.

“Thanks, babe.” Alecto gave him a small smile. 

Marisol’s lying on her side on one of the day beds. She doesn’t appear to notice Alecto as she approaches.

Alecto reaches out to Marisol and rests her hand on her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. She turns, looking startled. She wraps her fingers around Alecto’s hand. Her skin is soft and warm.

“You okay, hun?” Her voice remains soft, she watches Marisol carefully. _Your own stuff can be on hold for a while, Marisol looks like she needs you._

“Yeah...kind of.” She sounded a little unsure, the usual confidence her voice held had vanished. She rolls over to look at Alecto, her lips down turned in a frown, which lasts for a brief moment, a small smile flitting across her face.

“Better now, though. I just can’t get over this feeling of...well, lack of feelings. For Gary, I mean. Before he picked me, I thought I had chemistry with him. But maybe I just wanted to get away from Hannah and that clouded my judgment.” Marisol explained. Alecto perched on the daybed next to Marisol and linked her right hand with Marisol’s, giving it a gentle squeeze. She was used to Marisol being the one who was able to calm her down, she wanted to return the favour and help her, at least a bit.

“Are you going to crack on with someone new then?” She asked, her voice returning to its regular volume. Without her even realising, Marisol’s presence was enough to calm her entirely. _Like Sophie, you keep thinking it but that means it’s true._ She forced her other hand to stay still and not fidget. People didn’t always respond well to her constant need to occupy both hands, she was used to being referred to as annoying.

“I don’t know.” She looks Alecto up and down.

“Well, I may have someone in mind. But I don’t know how they feel, and I won’t say who it is yet. And now I don’t even have the girls to talk to, since Lottie and Priya have divided the Villa with their drama…” _Wait...was she just flirting with you? Her tone definitely changed momentarily, and that little smile she gave, she only does that if she’s flirting with someone._ Alecto bit her lip, her cheeks flushing red. _Why do you turn into a little kid again if there’s even the mere chance of someone liking you. You’re so obvious!_

Marisol sits up and bows her head.

“It looks so easy on the telly.” Her voice shook for a moment. And thinking on her feet, Alecto pulled her into an embrace. It’s comfortable, like a favourite jumper. There’s a familiarity to it she can’t quite put her finger on. She breathed in deeply, inhaling Marisol’s pineapple perfume. _So the mist-ery was her, then! Why did she say so in the first place?_ The embrace lingers, and lingers… _This feels so right, but you need to sort out the shit going on around the rest of the Villa. The feeling is so similar to the way you felt for Sophie, yet different at once. Sophie was your first real love, well, your first everything, you don’t count Étienne obviously._

She bit her lip, snapping out of her head.

“Erm, Marisol?” She said, her voice softer again for some reason.

“Hmm? Oh! Sorry. You’re just so huggable. I should leave you to your evening. I really appreciate you coming over and talking to me.” The hug ended and Alecto looked back at Marisol, noticing the wide smile on her face. _You caused that. Maybe, just maybe, you cause the same warm feeling in her that you feel in you whenever she’s near?_

She stands up and walks away, leaving Marisol to her thoughts. Knowing what drama awaits her makes it difficult to move her feet, not turn back and just stay with Marisol. _Most of them do forget you exist occasionally, she’s one of the only people who sees you, the real you. Or it feels that way at least. Okay. Lottie next. Hopefully she’s less of a tornado._

Alecto opens the door to the roof terrace and finds Lottie sitting on her own. A crumpled tissue lies discarded on the table. She turns away from Alecto, but she catches a glimpse of her red, puffy eyes. She approached gingerly, stopping beside her.

“You OK, babe?” She takes a seat next to her. She keeps her voice gentle and soft, so she doesn’t startle her.

“Always, babe.” She lets out a small sniffle, and moves slightly closer to Alecto, nestling her head into Alecto’s shoulder.

“I must look so pathetic right now.”

“No...not at all.” Alecto felt her voice crackle and shake slightly. She had a habit of getting upset when people she cared about were upset, and she felt a tear drip down her cheek.

“I appreciate you being nice. But we both know that’s not how it is. Some of what Priya said really got to me, as well as the situation with us, and the kiss last night. I haven’t said anything to anyone, as I’m still processing that. You’ve been acting strange today, too. I’ve been worried about you, if maybe the kiss pushed you away from me, and it’ll be odd between us now. I lost Hannah, I can’t lose you too. I don’t usually cry either. This isn’t what I do. I’m not this person. You didn’t really take a side earlier...it feels slightly like you’re moving away from me. But do you now see where I’m coming from now?” She came to the end of her little speech and fell silent. _Wait. She thought you were pushing her away? And she’s worried about you, and doesn’t want to lose you?Maybe that was part of the reason she blew up at Priya, then? Help. This is a difficult decision._

She tried to speak but her words got trapped behind a lump in her throat. The words she wanted to say got twisted and the direct opposite came out.

“You were totally justified, babe. You had every right to go for her. After all, she took Gary from me.” _Oh no. You’re just making everything worse, like you always do._ She felt more tears escape her eyes. _You were supposed to fix it, not make everything worse. Hope will be disappointed with you._

“Exactly! And her excuse is just ‘I had to make a choice, blah blah blah’. No one’s partner is safe around her.” Lottie jumped at the chance to continue talking about Priya in the same way she was before. Alecto stares out into the distance, her eyes refusing to focus for tears. She removed her glasses and set them on the table, there was no need for them now her vision was even more spinny. She fiddled with her bracelet, unable to keep her hands still. 

“Another thing... she betrayed girl code.” Her heart wasn’t fully invested in her shaky words, and she knew it wasn’t convincing.

“Exactly. I’m starting to think we’re the only ones who care about girl code.” Lottie squeezed her hand unexpectedly, she felt her heartbeat race in her chest, not from the weird feelings that materialised before either. She felt a weight in her stomach and could hear what amounted to white noise in her ears. Lottie was trying to say something, but she couldn’t focus on the witch next to her. She felt Lottie let go and distantly heard her heels go downstairs. _Wow. Great job. You messed up now._

She curled herself into a ball, resting her chin on her knees. Her mind finally stopped whirring, and she was able to look up at the stars around her. She felt someone sit next to her, and put a gentle arm around her.

“You didn’t come to find me earlier. What happened? Lottie said you were up here.” Hope said, looking at her with a concerned look on her face. “You’ve been crying, what’s wrong?”

“I...kissed Lottie in the bathroom last night. I can’t help feeling guilty, I cheated on Rocco and Lottie cheated on Bobby. She talks of girl code and what Priya did when we both did something worse. The worst part is I’ve been cheated on before, yet that didn’t stop me. On top of that, I think I’ve made the Lottie/Priya situation worse, I froze and said the wrong thing entirely. I wouldn’t blame you if you hated me for it.” She sniffled, grabbing a tissue and blowing her nose.

“I don’t hate you for it. For the kiss or what you said to Lottie. It’s clearly been eating you up. Did you talk about it at all with her? Or mostly the argument?” Hope gave her a smile. _She understands, and gets it. Wow! That’s a little unexpected._

“Just the argument. I zoned out for a while so she might’ve mentioned the kiss a bit then. My head’s a mess, I can’t explain how I feel or anything. I do feel like I failed.” Her voice was less shaky, and she was able to focus a bit. 

“Marisol told me how great you were at comforting her. That definitely accounts for something in my eyes. It might have been better if I helped you with Lottie as I could tell you were struggling, which was my error, not yours.” Hope explained.

_She has a point. This helps a lot._

“Please don’t tell anyone about the kiss. Maybe Noah, he can be trusted to not spread it around. I wasn’t even supposed to tell you, Lottie will flip if she knows that I told.” _Especially not Marisol. You don’t want to ruin the possibilities of something more there._ She grabbed her glasses, wiping off the tear tracks, putting them back on. She could see a little clearer now, one of her tear ducts kept going, but that was normal.

“I promise I won’t tell anyone apart from Noah. It should be your choice whether to tell or not. I’ll support you and back you up if another fight starts too.” Hope stood and left the roof, giving Alecto’s hand a gentle squeeze before she left. _That feels much better. Hopefully the hurricane you provoked won’t blow up in your face._

She took some time to collect herself before leaving the roof terrace. Marisol runs up to her as she crosses the lawn.

“Hope’s gathering all the girls by the firepit. She wants to get everything out in the open.” Marisol said, looking at her with concern. _That isn’t a great idea. This can so easily blow up in your face._

“That sounds like a dangerous plan.” She sighed, trying for a small smile.

“Yeah…” Marisol’s eyes go wide and a grin spreads across her face. “You could say that she was...playing with fire!” She looked delighted at her joke, and everything fell into an awkward silence. _Hang on. Fire...firepit...oh that’s dreadful! Not that you can talk._

When the joke clicked, Alecto laughed, a bit too late.

Marisol coughs and recovers her previous composure.

“Oh dear, I think Bobby’s started to rub off on me. Let’s go!” _Hopefully she’s not hurt. Your head’s in the clouds currently._

“I liked it, just took a bit to click with me. Got a lot on my mind, right now.” She reached out and gave Marisol’s hand a gentle squeeze. To her relief, Marisol returned the squeeze, giving her a wide grin. _At least she’s happy. That’s something good that came out of this._

Alecto reaches the firepit and sees Hope sat in the middle, with Lottie and Priya on either side facing each other. Marisol takes a seat next to Hope. The only sound is the gentle crackling of the flames. She walks past Priya and Lottie and takes a seat next to Marisol.

“The middle seems the most neutral place…” Marisol whispered in her ear.

“Right girls, earlier there were some nasty words thrown around. I think I can speak for all of us when I say that we need to settle this before it gets any worse.” Hope looks at Lottie and Priya.

“I asked Alecto to talk to both of you…” she continued. _Hang on. She only mentioned Lottie!_

“Hope, you only asked Alecto to talk to Lottie. Not both of them. You said you’d talk to Priya earlier.” Marisol explained, giving Alecto’s hand a squeeze.

“My mistake then. What were you doing all this time, Alecto?” Hope asked.

“I went to check on both Lottie and Marisol.” The others look at her and Marisol.

“Why Marisol?” Hope asked. _She’s asking the questions so Lottie and Priya both know, as she already knows._

“I know that Marisol and Gary are having issues, I wanted to be there for her.” She explained. 

“I appreciate it, hun.” Marisol gave her a wide smile and squeezed her hand. She felt a tiny warm spark manifest itself in her palm, it was difficult to not react.

“That was nice of you, but the issue still stands.” Hope said.

All the girls stand up.

“My parents always said never to sleep on an argument...but you won’t listen to each other, so I guess that advice is out the window…” Hope finished, looking disappointed.

The girls split off, heading back inside the Villa.

Alecto looks up and sees the boys watching from the roof terrace. Rocco gives her a shrug.


	13. Chapter 13

The cool, morning air carries the sound of gentle birdsong. _You weren’t the morning type before, but going to uni and adjusting to that schedule has turned you into an early riser._ Just then, she hears splashing coming from the pool. By the pool, two boys sit with their feet in the water. The tall blonde one is dripping wet.

Alecto leans forward, the roof terrace was the perfect vantage point to watch from above.

“I can’t believe we’re really here!”

“Tell me about it! I can’t wait to meet the girls…”

She hears two unfamiliar voices and her interest is piqued. _Hmm. Your luck might turn around, you never know! One of them could be your perfect match. Don’t go down there on your own, you should wake the other girls up. You’re not the confident or outgoing type, so it’s better to get the measure of people first before you jump in._

She runs back into the dark bedroom. A few masked faces poke out from under their sheets. All she can hear is the familiar sound of Noah’s snoring. She moves around the beds, quietly shaking the girls one-by-one until they’re awake. She reaches Marisol last.

“Alecto? What’s up?” She asks, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

“There’s two new boys outside…” she whispered, moving closer to Marisol.

“What!?” Marisol looked properly awake now. Alecto glared at her, one eyebrow raising and held a finger to her lips. Marisol flinched slightly. _The eyebrow meets its next victim! You have no control over it either._

“Shh! Don’t wake the guys up.” She kept her voice low, and her expression didn’t change. She scanned the dark bedroom, thankfully Marisol hadn’t woken up the guys. _They sleep like logs!_

Alecto and the rest of the girls quickly make their way to the dressing room.

“This is so exciting.” Hope’s eyes glittered with excitement and she had a wide smile on her face. _Someone’s a morning person!_

“What about Noah?” Lottie asked, eyeing Hope carefully.

“It’s fine, I just want to check out the eye candy. That’s all.” Hope said.

“We should go all out for this. Girls, get your cutest bikinis on! But anyway, enough chit-chat! Let’s go!” Priya encouraged. _Isn’t attracting someone through your personality better than through your looks? You prefer not to lead people on._

Alecto fiddled with her long dark hair, brushing it out and leaving it loose. She grabbed her glasses, cleaning the lenses and putting them on. In her hurry, she nearly forgot her bracelet, and she had to make a hasty back turn, legging it back to the dressing room and quickly grabbing the first bracelet she touched. She hurried to keep up with the rest of the girls, cursing her short legs under her breath.

The girls whoop and cheer as they make their way outside. As usual, Hope is taking the lead. Alecto sped up until she was in the middle of the group. She crosses her arms and feigns a ‘give a damn’ attitude. _Don’t look desperate, even though you technically are._

“This is so exciting! I wonder what these guys are like…” Priya said.

“Hey boys! So, who are you?” Hope said.

“Hey there, girls! I’m Henrik.” He grinned, returning the girls’ smiles.

“Goodness, look at all of you. I’m Lucas…” He looked more reserved and quieter than Henrik on first impressions. 

“So what do you boys do?” Hope asked.

Lucas opens his mouth but is cut off before he can say anything.

“How are we coming across to the public?” Marisol chipped in.

“How much can you bench press?” Priya asked.

_Wow, talk about all at once! They should wait for the boys to answer, that’s a little rude to keep cutting in._

The boys’ eyes go wide as they look around and try to get a word in. Alecto stayed silent, watching them carefully and twirling a lock of hair around her finger absentmindedly. She realised Lucas was looking directly at her, and looked away, blushing. _Could he really like you? Or are you just imagining things, yet again? You should really get that checked out._

Henrik turns to Lucas.

“I knew they’d be a handful, but this is something else!”

Lucas gives off a faint smile and goes back to looking at the girls.

“I’ll show you who’s a handful.” Lottie smirked at Henrik.

“Oh, you’re even feistier in person. We’ve gotten to know you all a bit before coming in here.” Henrik explained.

“It’s been quite exciting.” Lucas replied. _Shoot. Do they know about the kiss, and that mess?_

She looks around at the other girls. _There could be more suspicious things than just that, though. You kind of wonder what they’ve seen._

“What’ve you seen?” Marisol read her mind, giving voice to Alecto’s thoughts.

“Oh, all sorts. I’d say some of the sneaky kisses are probably the most entertaining…” Lucas replied, making eye contact with her again. _That doesn’t sound good! Uh oh._

Lottie shifts her eyes around the group.

“Sneaky kisses? Who’s been doing that?” Priya asked.

“That’s not our place to say. That would be kiss-and-tell by proxy.” Lucas explained. _He talks slightly differently to everyone else. You like it, though, it’s familiar. Sophie had the same way of speech, you do too, to an extent._

“Why phrase it so weirdly?” Henrik asked, looking confused.

“That’s...just how I talk.” Lucas said.

“Let’s just forget it and move on.” Alecto said, making an effort to appear bored with the subject. _Hopefully they’re not good at reading people._

“I agree...but we’re coming back to this at some point.” Hope said. _But she already knows! At least about the Lottie one._

She hears one of the girls stifle some nervous laughter, but can’t make out who it was. She made sure to not mess with her bracelet or do anything which made her appear shifty.

“Anyway...what do you guys do?” Priya asked.

“I’m a physiotherapist.” Lucas said.

“Oh, so you give the best massages then.” Alecto gave him a slight smile, making eye contact with him.

“Well...I’ve had no complaints. But I’m also good at giving people a real good stretch…” he returned the smile for a moment before switching tactics to what can only be described as a smoulder. It was difficult for Alecto to keep her mouth shut, but her cheeks flushed in response. He maintained eye contact with her. _Curse having pale, freckled skin! You blush at the drop of a hat._ She felt a small fizzing sensation within her, so small it could easily have been missed.

“Perhaps you could show us some exercises later.” Priya licked her lips, rendering Lucas entirely speechless.

“And I’m a climbing and wilderness survival instructor.” Henrik chipped in.

“That cannot be a real job!” Alecto expressed her doubt, her eyes flickering from Lucas to Henrik.

“It totally is! I started out just as a climbing instructor and occasionally would take advanced students out to big, secluded climb sites. They said they learned so much about the wilderness from me that I should also teach it. So I sort of carved out my own career in a way, I guess.” Henrik explained.

“What are you interested in?” Marisol asked.

“Climbing.” Henrik replied. _Obviously, or you wouldn’t do it as a job._

“Well...yeah. What else?” Marisol asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

“I love anything outdoors. Trekking, camping, water-sports. Anything like that, really.” Henrik explained. _Ah. You suck at sports or outdoor stuff, so definitely not your thing._

“That sounds so tedious.” Alecto said, twirling a loose lock of hair around her finger.

“Sounds like you just need the right person to show you how great it really is…” he trailed off. _If he wants a disaster, or multiple injuries for both of you, then fine. If he actually wants it to go well, choosing a walking disaster isn’t going to end well. You’re pretty attached to your limbs, and it’s been at least a month since your last injury. It’s a miracle you’ve never broken any limbs._

Lucas clears his throat, bringing the attention back to him.

“I also like water-sports. I mostly enjoy a good bit of rowing.” Lucas said. _Ooh! Water sports! Well, you prefer the water half of that equation but much less dangerous, especially rowing._

“Rowing? Sounds romantic.” She found herself flirting with him. _Wow! Where’s this confidence from? You’ve been possessed by something, clearly._

“Oh it can be. Find the right lake or river? Nothing better. I’ve done my fair share of competitive rowing against teams of other rowers. But give me a simple two-person rowboat any day. I’m partial to doing it in Cumbria. On a good day the views are just breathtaking.” Lucas explained.

“I’ve never met anyone who speaks as posh as you do.” Priya said.

“It’s amazing…” Hope looked mesmerised.

Lucas fell silent, it was clear being referred to as posh bothered him.

“Oi oi!” Gary called out.

They all turn to see the other boys running out of the villa.

“Alright boys?” Henrik said.

“Hey! What’s cracking?” Bobby said, peppy and excitable as always.

All the boys crowd round the newbies, separating the girls from them as they start to chat. _That’s slightly rude, but you’re not going to be the one to rock the boat._

After some jostling about, the boys move aside, giving the new boys some breathing space. Except Gary who stays perfectly in-between Marisol and Henrik.

“Hope you didn’t mind us butting in. We just wanted to get to know the new guys.” Rocco appeared beside her unexpectedly. _Does he have footsteps? It’s slightly creepy how often people keep sneaking up on you._

“The poolside ain’t the place to have this conversation. Let’s go to the fire pit where there’s seats and stuff.” Gary pointed out.

“You lads are in for a right grilling. Get it?” Bobby chipped in. _The sign of an atrocious joke is one which you have to either explain or put ‘get it?’something of that calibre after it. You actually found it funny for once, but your sense of humour is notoriously dreadful!_

“No?” Henrik stared at Bobby with a wide open mouth. _How did he not get that?_

“Oh my days, Bobby…” Lottie gave him a look. _Yup, that one didn’t go down well, at all._

“Grilling! Because it’s a fire pit and you’re going to be asked a bunch more questions…” Bobby looked disappointed at having to explain the joke. 

“Well done, Bobby. You know what they say? Jokes are always at their funniest when they need explaining.” Lucas replied, the sarcasm clear in his words. Alecto laughed, catching Lucas’ eye again. _Ooh, sarcasm and a more dry sense of humour! That’s a change. Good one though, you can be pretty sarcastic yourself._

“Aren’t they just?!” Bobby looked delighted at Lucas’ comment, the sarcasm sailing completely over his head.

“Indeed. Have a cookie.” Lucas chipped back. Alecto smiled, watching the exchange before her. _They have an interesting dynamic._

“Yes!” Bobby said. _Metaphorical, not actual. He has no clue that Lucas is being sarcastic, does he?_

“Cookies? I thought we were going to get some barbecue? I could really go for that.” _Henrik didn’t spot the sarcasm either, it appears. Which makes some sense, he does have similar energy to Bobby._

“Sure Thor junior...let’s go and get that barbecue.” Bobby said.

“Awesome!” Henrik looked delighted at the idea. _Yup, he’s definitely somewhat high energy, that’s for sure._

The group begins to settle around the fire pit. Hope sits on Noah’s lap. Gary positions himself in the middle of Henrik and Lucas. Rocco sits on the outer edge of the group.

“Babe, come sit next to me.” Rocco beckoned to her.

Both Lucas and Henrik look up at Alecto. _Hmm. Decisions, decisions. You want to be welcoming to the newbies and Lucas does fascinate you slightly. His energy is likely closer to yours than Rocco’s is. Henrik is too high energy, based off first impressions, while Rocco, there’s no spark there. But you don’t want to be rude._

Someone cleared their throat, snapping her out of her thoughts. _Do what you feel is best._

She moves past Rocco and takes a seat next to Lucas. Her heartbeat was so loud in her ears, and she felt a strange form of nerves. 

“Oh my, this fire pit is even more snug than it appears on TV.” Lucas said next to her. _Yes, that’s true. It’s a wonder that so many people fit around this thing._

The other Islanders look at the two of them, and then to Rocco.

“Need a closer look at the new pretty boy or something?” Rocco’s words were sprinkled with anger, and he glared at her. Alecto flinched slightly, accidentally moving towards Lucas.

“Oh, s...sorry.” Her voice was quiet and slightly shaky. To her surprise, she felt Lucas take hold of her hand and give it a gentle squeeze, rubbing his finger gently on the back of her hand. She looked up at him and noticed he gave her a smile. _How is he that good at reading you? Wow._

She felt herself relax slightly, taking in a deep breath to help calm herself.

Gary claps Henrik’s leg as if they’d been friends for years.

“So lads, the big question...what’s your usual type?” Gary took the lead in the interrogation.

“Straight to the point with you, eh?” Lucas said, watching him carefully.

“What can I say? I like to be direct.” Gary said.

“I like a girl that’s outgoing, adventurous, doesn’t take herself too seriously.” Henrik said. _Nothing like you at all then. Which isn’t a surprise. That sounds like both Priya and Lottie though._

“In terms of looks...the last few girls I’ve dated have been brunette. I just have a thing for dark hair. I also have a weakness for good tattoos. Ones that have had a lot of thought put into them.” _Hmm. More Lottie, then? The only thing he said that sounds like you is dark hair. But appearance isn’t something to base a relationship on._

Alecto sees Marisol raise an eyebrow and look at Lottie.

“What about you, erm, other guy?” Gary asked. _He definitely appears threatened then, the happy smiley guy act he puts on is definitely a farce._

“Gary…” Marisol watched him with an eyebrow quirked.

The other boys chuckle amongst themselves.

“What? I’ve only just met the bloke.” Gary defended himself.

“It’s fine, I quite understand. Besides, I’m like Rumpelstiltskin, if you ever say my name, I’ll disappear.” Lucas said, an easy smile on his face. _Your sarky o-meter keeps sounding an alarm. Hmm, funny. Hope that’s not true, you want to get to know him more._

She laughed at his remark, mirroring his smile next to her. 

“Really?” Bobby looked hopeful. _Hmm. The shoe isn’t as good on the other foot, after all._

“No.” Lucas said, his face settling back into a straight expression. 

“That’s good. The fun’s only just beginning!” Gary lets out an awkward laugh while jostling Lucas’ side. Lucas just gives off a wisp of a smile in response.

“But yeah, my type...I guess I’m used to girls who have a more decent taste. Who know what they want in life and how to get it.” Lucas said. _That does sound like you. Medicine has been a long term goal for you since primary school, and you’ve always had a clear cut plan to follow for life. You’re not that wild, you’re more planned and careful, which is a disappointment in the eyes of your family, but your twin definitely fulfills the wild child role in the family._

“I like blondes usually, can’t lie. And someone who knows how to dress-to-impress. But I don’t stick to some rigid type format usually.” Lucas finished. _You’re not blonde, but you can dress up if the occasion calls for it. If he doesn’t have a format, then you might have a shot there._

“Alright, alright, that was an easy question. Who else has one?” Gary asked.

“Oh oh!” Bobby sticks his hand up and waves it in the air.

“Yeah Bobs?” Gary said.

“What’re your numbers?” Bobby asks, a cheeky grin on his face.

“Ooh, spicy!” Priya also looks delighted at the question.

“Why do you need that?” Henrik asked, looking confused. _He doesn’t understand, clearly._

“Because it’s fun!” Priya explained.

“Yeah. What’s wrong? Are you a little ashamed?” Gary asked. _He better not be taking advantage of Henrik’s confusion!_

“No...I’m a little confused, but fine. It’s zero…seven, eight, four,one…” Henrik said. _Is that his phone number? He’s definitely barking up the wrong tree there!_

“Wait, which one is it?” Marisol asked, looking confused.

“Huh?” Henrik looked even more confused.

“Mate! Are you giving us your phone number?” _Gary’s not amused!_

“You asked for our numbers?” Henrik was still confused.

“Oh...erm, Henrik. They meant sexual partners.” Lucas stepped in. _Finally! It was obvious he had no clue there!_

“Oh, did they? How could I be so oblivious?” Henrik looked slightly like a kicked puppy.

Everyone frowns and looks around.

“It was a joke!” Henrik bursts out laughing, the rest of the group join in.

“Good one! But your delivery was maybe a tad too serious. I missed the sarcasm.” Bobby said. _That’s because it wasn’t a joke!_

“Sarcasm’s hard...anyway, it’s thirteen, for me.” Henrik said. _Okay. That’s more than you, definitely. That does make you feel rather self conscious, only having slept with one person. You’re not judgy though._

“Thirteen women? That’s average, really.” Alecto just about kept her voice level, speaking slightly quieter so if she tripped up, it wouldn’t be obvious.

“Is it? It just sort of happens. I never put much thought into it.” Henrik said.

“Fair play. What about you, Lucas?” Gary asked.

“Well, again, I hate to kiss and tell, and this seems a tad vulgar…” Lucas looked very uncomfortable. _Sharing more private things isn’t necessary if he doesn’t feel comfortable._

“You don’t have to say if you don’t want to, Lucas.” Alecto said, trying to reassure him a little. He smiles at her, and just that small action causes sparks to go off inside her. He gives her hand a squeeze again, and this time, she feels a crackle in her palm. When he lets go, she feels slightly dazed.

“What? What’s the fun in that? Tell us!” Gary pressures him.

Lucas sighs.

“Very well...my magic number is seven.” He said. _That’s less than Henrik’s. Most of the people in here have likely had more sex than you, anyway._

“Seven? That’s pretty average.” To her surprise, her voice settles into a warmer tone without her having to do anything.

“Thanks, I thought it was respectable. I’m not the sort of guy who beds everything that walks…” He looks over at Gary.

“So, guys... time for the big question. Who do you fancy?” Noah asked, making her jump slightly.

“Noah! You actually spoke!” Bobby looked at him with surprise.

“I do when I have something to say.” Noah explained. _Fair enough, like you._

“I’d forgotten how silky-smooth your voice was…” Bobby said.

“Settle down, Bobby.” Noah said, stunning Bobby into speechlessness for a moment.

“Okay.” Bobby pouted.

“Anyway, boys, who do you fancy?” Noah repeated the question.

“I’ll go first...for me, it’s got to be Alecto. You’re definitely the type of woman I go for, and I’d love to get to know you better.” Lucas said, turning to her. _Eep! Wow! As if by magic!_

“Y...you’re not so bad yourself…” Alecto found herself tripping over her words while flirting with him. _And the awkwardness strikes again!_

“I’m right here, you know?” Rocco said, looking disappointed and sad. _Says the one who’s flirting with everything that walks! Pot, meet kettle._

“I’m definitely into Lottie. She’s my type all over.” Henrik said. _Your people reading skills are magic, again!_

Lottie tries to hide a smile.

“Ah, another brave soul who dares try to tame the beast.” Lottie playfully elbows Bobby in the side.

“Bobby…” Lottie says in a warning tone.

“What? Just warning the fella what kind of lass he’s chosen.” Bobby quips back.

Gary seems to sink back into his seat some more.

“Well boys, looks like you’ve got some competition. Are you prepared for it, Rocco” Gary asked.

“Always...and besides, these guys aren’t a real threat.” Rocco said. _Hmm. He’ll be eating his words soon enough._

“Right then, I guess I should give you a tour of the Villa.” Gary said.

“Wouldn’t that be a job for us?” Marisol watched him carefully.

Gary looks downcast for a moment.

“...Nah,babe. We should do it as a group.” He explained.

“Fine, I suppose we should get started, then?” Marisol said.

“This sounds good. Lead on Gaz!” Henrik said.

“...it’s Gary.” He looks miffed at the nickname. _There’s not many things people can shorten your name to. You’d scare off anyone who tried, anyway._

“Sure, Gaz.” Lottie chimed in.

“Don’t you start!” He glared at her.

“Well that nickname is sticking…” Bobby chimed in.

While the new boys are shown around a Villa they’re already familiar with… Alecto and Marisol have gone to have a natter on the daybeds.

“That was some morning…” Marisol gave her a wide grin. _Maybe if you play your cards right, you might have a stable couple soon._

“This morning couldn’t have been better.” She replied, returning Marisol’s grin. _Hmm. It appears Lottie is avoiding you slightly, she did disappear pretty quickly. You prefer Marisol and Hope now though, as they’re both calmer._

“Tell me about it. Thanks again for getting us up when you saw those guys. I’m not sure many of us would have had that kind of willpower...So tell me, babe...How do you feel about Lucas? He said he fancies you after all.” Marisol asked, giving her a quizzical look. _Did she notice all the flirting? You don’t usually do that, it’s not normal for you to make the first move._

“I think he’s super cute.” Alecto said. _Nice. Short and sweet._

“No doubt about that. He’s fit. The things I’d do to him...if only I’d brought my handcuffs. So what do you think you’ll do if he asks you to couple up with him?” Marisol agreed. _Handcuffs? Wow. Anyway, that’s easy._

“I’d couple with him.” She felt strangely confident still, her words were coming out a lot easier.

“No holding you back, eh? What about Rocco, though? That’d probably crush him. I can’t believe we’ve been here less than a week. It seems so much longer. I feel like I’ve known you guys forever.” _Yeah, that definitely seems accurate. In this place, you do gain strong relationships fast, because of the nature of it. You’re thrown together with a group of people and no outside contact or extra entertainment, so relationships are formed fast. You did get close with Sophie quickly though. You do tend to struggle friend wise, so it’s a little odd to have possibly two close friends so soon. Why does she care so much about Rocco, anyway? That’s the question._

The two of them continue to lounge on the daybed for a while. From the roof terrace, Alecto can hear Gary giving his grand tour. Marisol rolls her eyes and turns to Alecto.

“Whew. It’s kind of hot here, isn’t it? I can’t believe I just made a weather comment.” Marisol fanned herself with a hand. _Definitely. So hot. Also small talk? Really? Have we run out of everything else? Weather comments are usually used to fill conversation gaps in which people are uncomfortable with silence, that’s the function of small talk to begin with._

“Why not?” She asked, interested in Marisol’s views. 

“It’s one of those things people go to when they don’t know what to talk about, isn’t it? Imagine in a few more days, when we’ve all finally run out of small talk. It’ll be like ‘don’t you think it’s hot, Bobby,’ and, like ‘totally, Hope, it’s so hot’. Won’t that be dire?” Marisol explained. _Aha, she read your mind, again. Are you sure you two don’t share a brain?_

“Yeah, I hate small talk too. I can’t always come up with interesting things to talk about, either.” She said. _Well, unless you’re interested in medicine related stuff, stuff that sounds plain weird or just random stuff. Or some stuff in your past or something._

“Really? I’m surprised. You seem pretty cool to me.” Marisol looked at her with an eyebrow raised. Alecto blushed, fiddling with the end of her braid. _Wait. She thinks I’m cool! Aww, yay! You’ve fooled someone. You turn into a little kid if you get a compliment, you’re really not used to it._

“Aw, cheers. So do you!” Her voice was a little softer, she gave Marisol a small smile.

“In a pinch, I could always do a dance.” Marisol suggested. _Dance? You have two left feet so if she’s looking for a partner, maybe not you?_

“I’ll make sure to volunteer you if things get really dull!” Alecto said. _That is, if you remember! Your memory is notoriously bad, there’s entire years vanished from your head._

“You know, I’d need a dance partner in that case. I’ll keep you in mind.” Marisol looked directly into her eyes. _Ooh. Flirting, are we?_ She felt her cheeks get progressively warmer, combined with the fizzing feeling inside her. _This is definitely Sophie, over again._

“W...we’ll see!” She tripped over her words in an effort to get them out, stuttering slightly to speak past the nervous lump in her throat.

“Hey gals!”

Bobby’s voice snaps Alecto out of her conversation with Marisol. She looks up at him, he’s holding three steaming mugs.

“I noticed you weren’t with the rest of us and then realised no one had made a brew yet.” He holds out the mug. “So here you go!” _Aww. Tea is definitely one of the keys to your heart. You’re likely at least 85% tea. You were definitely feeling slightly overwhelmed, having some downtime was needed._

Marisol eagerly takes the mug from Bobby.

“Thanks, Bobby! It’s still cool enough out here to drink this.” Marisol looked delighted. _It’s definitely not! It’s so hot out here._

“Yeah, though I drink tea when it’s hot. I mean, I’m from Glasgow. For me, it’s like walking on the sun itself right now. May as well still enjoy a brew.” _True. The same applies to Wales, it’s nearly always raining. Which you absolutely love._

“Anyway, here’s yours, Alecto.” She clasps the warm mug in her hand and takes a sip. It’s one of the best cups of tea she’s ever had.

“This is amazing, Bobby!” She gave him a wide grin. _Are you still on the same planet? This tea is gorgeous._

“You’re welcome. I was always told I had a knack for making tea. I don’t get it, though. It’s not hard. Just hot water on some dried leaves and all...I guess I better rejoin the Gary Tour Bus.” Bobby actually looked miffed to be returning. _Hang on. Does he have ulterior motives?_

“Aren’t you going to ask us what we’re talking about?” Marisol asked. _Yup. You must share a brain._

“I assume it’s about the new boys, right? What your opinions about them are is none of my business. I just wanted to bring you a cup of tea. Enjoy.” He heads back inside the Villa. _He’s so up to something!_

“Bobby’s up to something.” She tapped her nose in an attempt to puzzle it out.

“When’s he not, babe? Lottie is lucky to be in a couple with him. Even if they are a friendship couple…” Marisol replied. _Both of us are hardly in stable couples ourselves! A nice friendship couple would be preferable to the limbo you’re in currently._

The two of them continue to relax and wait for the group to return.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s been 3 months exactly since I started posting this fic, so today’s a surprise double upload!

“...So that’s why I think my hands are so good, basically. Good symmetry either side of the middle finger, immaculate cuticles...and no conspicuous scars _despite_ how much time I spend around hot ovens. I should become a hand model.” Bobby explained. _How did we get on to this, again? You have no idea, you lost complete track of the conversation a while ago._

“Henrik should become a hand model…” Priya replied, a flirty expression on her face.

“Huh? Why? Does he have nice hands too?” Bobby asked, looking confused.

“I don’t know. I haven’t seen them. But he’s just kind of perfect in general. What about you, Alecto? Would you choose Henrik, or Rocco?” Priya asked. _Neither. Lucas on the other hand, you’d choose him any day. Be careful you don’t fall too fast though, protect your heart for goodness sake._

Alecto heard Priya snap her fingers and she jumped, pulling herself out of her thoughts and into the present again. Her cheeks were flushed, the mere thought of Lucas made her blush.

“Lucas is a bit of me, for sure.” She replied, her voice was slightly slower than usual and had a dream like quality to it, her voice far away and warm at once.

She fiddled with her hair, curling it around her finger. _Crush mode has definitely been activated. Uh oh, you do tend to become even more of a mess when that happens._

“Well, you can have him.” Priya grinned at her. 

“Hey, there are other guys in the Villa too, you know.” Bobby sounded slightly hurt. _Maybe having this conversation around him wasn’t the best idea. You dislike messing with people’s heads._

“Are there? Like who?” Priya put on an expression of disbelief.

Bobby was silent for a moment.

“Where did the two new guys get to, anyway?” He asked. _He does have a point. Maybe they needed a bit of quiet time from all the madness? You know you need that quite often yourself._

“Yeah, they seem to have vanished off somewhere.” Priya looked disgruntled at that.

“Intriguing.” Bobby didn’t say anything else, keeping it short and sweet. _He’s not usually that quiet. Hmm. Maybe having new guys has messed with his head?_

“Guys, I got a text!” Priya called out.

“Ah, right on time. What does it say?” Lottie asked.

“Islanders, new boys Lucas and Henrik have each chosen three girls to take on dates. The first girls chosen are…” Priya read out.

Hope’s phone beeps.

“Oh my gosh, it’s me! I’m going for a drink with Lucas!” She looked ecstatic. _Good for her! Maybe Lucas will pick you for one of the other dates then. Hopefully._

And then so does Alecto’s.

“Alecto, you’re going on a date with Henrik.” She read out. _Wow, Henrik’s also interested in you! That’s a surprise._

“Yes! Let’s go get ready.” Hope linked arms with her and they went to the dressing room.

She’s just putting the finishing touches to her makeup when Rocco walks in.

“Alright? I heard you’re off for a date with that Henrik bloke.” He said. 

“Yeah, that’s right.” She said, watching him carefully. With his reaction earlier at the appearance of the new boys, she was a little wary of him.

“How do you feel about it?” He asked.

“It’s nice to be asked.” She said. _You may prefer Lucas, but that doesn’t mean you’ll be rude to Henrik. That’s not how you function._

“Course it is. And just so you know, I’m not salty about him asking you or any of that. The new boys obviously want to get to know the most beautiful girl in the Villa. You go have fun.” He said. _He’s taking it well then, maybe as you’re being polite in return. Kindness does go a long way. There’s still no spark whatsoever though. You’re not sure how he hasn’t noticed yet. Also was he just flirting with you? That no longer has an impact at all on you._

“Thanks for saying that.” She gave him a small smile.

“It’s all good! Catch you later.” He grinned back. 

Henrik jumps up to greet her as she arrives at the little table laid out for the date. In the distance she can make out Hope and Lucas chatting at another table.

“Hey! Thanks so much for coming. Woah, you look amazing! I’ve been really looking forward to getting to meet you one on one.” The excitement came off him in waves. She blinked, trying to get her bearings back.

“Wow, you’re keen.” She said, unable to think of something else to say. _That’s obvious, come on. Hello, Captain Obvious!_

“It’s all part of my game plan. I’m going to be really over the top and flirty with everyone. Like, what if I did this?” He does an over-the-top wink.

“Then you’d know I wasn’t messing around, right? That’s how you flirt.” He looked so pleased with himself. _Um, isn’t the point of a game plan to not tell people of the game plan, or are you being an idiot here? Also the over the top thing might work on the others, but you struggle a lot with more extroverted and overwhelming people._

She realised she’d been silent for too long again and bit her lip, looking at Henrik as she tried to think straight.

“It’s not working.” She said, fiddling with her bracelet to shift nervous energy.

“Isn’t it? It worked when I was doing it in the mirror earlier. Let me try again.” He does the over-the-top wink again. _Oh yeah, he doesn’t do well with subtleties or sarcasm. You forgot that for a minute._

“Still nothing?” He gave her what she called his ‘sad puppy’ face. She felt a little guilty. _Why didn’t you just go along with it? That would mean leading him on which is equally as mean, so both options would end badly._

“No, sorry.” Her voice was slightly softer and she looked at the tablecloth in front of her. 

“Ah, that’s a shame. Us two new boys, we’ve got to bring it.” He laughs and settles down. 

“But seriously, though, it’s weird, right? Us coming in like this. Because we both sort of know all about you guys already. Do you get me? Like, I know your name is Alecto and you’ve recently become qualified as a junior doctor and on the first day you coupled up with Gary and all this. It’s weird, like, being sat here with you, because you’re already a celebrity to me.” _That’s strange, you don’t feel that way at all. You still feel like a regular everyday person, who’s nothing that special and is always a second choice. You have to keep pinching yourself, being here is so unreal. You don’t feel like you belong at all, and you’re so out of your depth, being here with all these beautiful people when you’re only a 4 at best. People regularly overshadow you, this is a constant theme._

Alecto realised she had got lost in a thought spiral again and that Henrik was waiting on her. She took a deep breath, curling her hand into a tight ball under the table. 

“I… I don’t feel like a celebrity.” She stuttered in her rush to get her words out, feeling her cheeks flush again at her making a fool of herself. Her words were barely above a whisper at this point. _Just breathe. You’re slightly overwhelmed right now, but it will be okay._

“Yeah, that’s what’s so strange, because to me, you definitely are like a proper famous person at this point. What do people even normally talk about on dates?” He said. She looked up from the tablecloth and focused on him for a bit, pushing her glasses back up her nose. _You’re probably a bad person to be on a date with._

“They ask each other questions and stuff. Get to know each other better.” She explained. Her voice was levelling slightly again, which was a relief.

“Yeah, alright. Let’s do that. Ask me some stuff. What do you want to know?” He asked. _Okay, that you can do. You’d struggle if it was the other way around though._

She tapped her chin, deep in thought. 

“I want to know what you’re hoping to get out of coming here.” She asked. 

“Ooh, that’s a big one. I think mostly I just want to have a laugh and see what happens, if I’m honest. And maybe what happens is a really intensely meaningful relationship? I mean, that would be great. I really want to go on some kind of deep personal journey with another human being. But whatever happens happens, I reckon. Maybe I just get a great tan? That’d still be worth it. What else do you want to know?” He asked. _Okay. He’s less methodical than you are, you’re a planner. You don’t go with the flow, like at all. He has ideas, but nothing solid or concrete. You require stability to survive._

“I want to know what you think about the other islanders.” She asked. _Now, this will definitely be interesting._

“Wait,there are other Islanders? Ever since I saw you, I thought you were the only woman in the world.” _Down, boy. That was such a line._

“Is that more flirting?” She asked for clarification, raising her eyebrow at him. He flinched slightly. _Whoops. Guess the eyebrow is really that scary, huh? You have no control over it either._

“Haha yeah. You know it’s working! Like, deep down. But the other Islanders...I was worried Gary was going to be kind of prickly, but now I’ve met him I think I’ll get him on side. Bobby and Ibrahim both look like the kind of guys I get on super well with.” _Hmm, interesting. The flirting definitely isn’t working, at all._

“What about the girls?” She asked.

“I think Priya is cool. Like, she’s exactly the kind of person you want to spend all summer hanging out with. And Lottie’s got this whole thing going on where she’s really mean and tough, but it’s actually just because she’s got love for her friends. I respect that. Don’t know if that’s what I want in a partner, but I think it’s great.” _He’s quite a good judge of character._

Alecto glances at Lucas and Hope. They’re sitting back in their chairs, and Hope has her arms folded.

“I guess at the end of the day I’m kind of a homebody. It’s like, yeah, I love to run, I love to go to parties, I love to dance...but the best thing of all is to get home afterwards, you know? Log fire, cashmere blanket, two cups of cocoa…” he trailed off. _You prefer staying at home with your cat Sadie. Hopefully she’s behaving._

“Surely that’s not what your life is like.” She twisted her bracelet around on her wrist.

“Well, you’ll have to get to know me better and you can judge for yourself.” Henrik said.

She glances over at Lucas and Hope. They’re talking with their heads close together, like they don’t want anyone to overhear them.

“So I guess I want to know, like, what do you _do._ Not, like, what’s your job or whatever. I mean I want to know what you _like_ to do. What’s a typical evening for you?” He asked.

She focused her gaze back on him again.

“On a normal evening I’m mostly chilling at home.” She kept it simple.

“Nice! Do you like to read?” He asked.

“I love to read.” A genuine smile emerged on her face.

“Fiction or nonfiction?” He said.

“Both. People know not to put books down by me, as I’ll just swipe them. I have a habit of taking books and vanishing off to read them. I read practically anything, but I still have a to be read pile that’s taller than me by about 3ft.” She explained.

“Yeah, same. I’ve been reading this book about the origin of life for like two years now.” _That’s a little bit different then. You read much more in a year than he does._

“Where are you up to?” She asked.

“It’s the bit where there are millions of dead trees everywhere and all the dragonflies are six foot long.” _Yup. So haven’t read that!_

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah! It’s bizarre. I love it. Anyway I could talk about this all day...but I think we’re basically out of time.” He gets up from behind his chair.

“Let’s go.”

“Sure.”

“I hope you had fun! I certainly did.” _Really? You’re not known for being fun! That was definitely exhausting, like you expected. Hopefully you can have some free time to recharge, people free time._

She gets up and starts to walk back towards the Villa.

As she arrives back at the Villa, Bobby comes jogging up to her.

“Hey, Alecto!” _He’s looking cheerful. Slightly suspicious._

“Did I miss anything while I was away?” Alecto asked.

“Nah, just a lot of chat about the new boys, who is their type, and blah blah blah. I’m working on something else, though.” Bobby said. _Aha! Called it._

“What?” She asked, watching him carefully.

“Pranks! Think about it. Two of the boys are out of the Villa. The others are all restless and in the gym. Half the girls are getting ready for dates, and the other half are already out on dates. It’s perfect.” _The catch here is that he expects you to help. Really? So immature._

“Aren’t you even a little bit interested in, like, how the date went or something like that?” She asked, her displeasure at the idea of pranks clearly displayed on her face. _You could actually use some time to recharge, just in case Lucas asks you for a date at some point. You can hope, though._

“Not right now! Time is of the essence. Come on!” He grinned at her, encouraging her to join him. _If you help him, that can get this over with. You definitely don’t approve, but whatever._

“Sure, fine…” she sighed, finding it difficult to not roll her eyes at him.

Bobby leads her into the dressing room, which is deserted.

“So, what’s the prank?” She asked, watching him carefully.

“Alright, it’s not the greatest, but here’s my idea. I’m going to take all of Rocco’s clothes...and all of Henrik’s clothes...and mix them up. That way, when they get changed later, they’ll end up wearing each other’s clothes!” _That’s not funny in the slightest. Slightly mean, also. Your youngest sister would easily think of a better one, and she’s 11!_

“I’m not into this. I’m gonna go chat with the others.” She turns to leave. 

“Aw, come on!” He stared at her, wide eyed. _Why he’s that shocked you’re not buying into this, you don’t know._

Just then, she hears footsteps coming from outside.

“Hey, has anyone seen my flip flops?” Rocco calls out.

“There’s no time! Alecto, keep him distracted! I’m going in…” Bobby flings open Rocco’s cupboard and starts bundling his clothes out onto the floor. 

“I said I wasn’t going to help,Bobby. This prank is ridiculous!” She snapped. She was coming to the end of her tether and sent him an angry glare. 

“Oh, come on. Just humour me. Distract Rocco for just a few minutes. I’ll make a sound like a bird when I’m done.” He said. _Nope, you’re not doing this._

“A sound like a bird? Why?” She gave him a sceptical look.

“I don’t know! I’m improvising! Just go and talk to Rocco!” He said, making a shooing motion. _Fine, but you’re going to blow his cover. This is stupid._

“Alecto, hey. Have you seen my flip flops?” Rocco asked.

“Bobby wants me to distract you while he does a prank.” She explained. 

“Really? What’s the prank?” He said.

“He’s swapping your clothes around with Henrik’s, in the hope that you’ll somehow end up wearing each other’s clothes.” She said.

“What? That’s never going to work. I’m not going to accidentally put on someone else’s clothes.” He said.

“I know, right! It’s a really bad prank.” She said.

“I’d probably just assume that someone had given me a different wardrobe for some reason.” He said.

“Exactly. Anyway, I’m out of it.” _That was such a waste of time._

“I’d better go ask Bobby not to rearrange my stuff, then.” Rocco heads into the dressing room.

“Hey, dude, what are you doing? Why is my stuff all over the floor?” He asked, glaring at Bobby.

Alecto stayed put, just listening in. _Perfect. Now you won’t get the blame as you were nice enough to say something._

“I’m just...nothing.” Bobby said.

“Can you put it back?” Rocco said.

“Sure.” _Yup, he’s probably putting on that pouty face he does. Too bad._

“Oh, there they are!” Rocco comes downstairs holding some flip flops and nods to Alecto as he walks out. A few moments later, Bobby comes out and sits on the edge of his bed.

“It could have worked.” He pouted, clearly disappointed his antics didn’t work as planned.

“Sure, hun.” She gave him a sceptical look.

Just then, her phone beeps.

“Lucas has invited you on his final date of the day.” She read out, her bad mood from earlier forgotten. She reread the text in her head, then squeaked in excitement. _Wow! Someone’s getting lucky._

“Wait, you’ve got another data with one of these new guys?” Bobby asked.

“Yep, looks like it!” She gave him a small smile, excitement making her shake slightly.

“Wow. Go you!” Bobby grinned at her.

“This is great. I can’t believe I get dates with both of them! Just gonna check my makeup before I go.” She leaves Bobby to it.

Lucas is standing by a small table on top of a hill. As Alecto approaches, he waves and pulls a chair out for her. She notices Lottie and Henrik sitting at a similar table a little way away.

“Hey, how’re you doing?” He gave her an easy grin.

“Yeah, I’m good.” She naturally returned the grin, messing with the ends of her hair as a nervous action.

“This place is amazing, right?” He said, he seemed a little nervous. _Wait. Is being around you making him feel nervous too? Maybe he feels it too, the strange feeling that’s taking you over so quickly._

“It’s incredible. It’s so good to see a bit of the countryside.” She said, having to link her hands together on the table to prevent her from fiddling.

There’s a moment of silence. It feels welcome and comfortable, wrapping her up like a warm blanket. _He’s shy, like you. You two are definitely quite similar in personality from first impressions._

“So...are you happy I picked you to come on this date?” He asked. _Absolutely ecstatic! Don’t sound too overly eager, now._

She snapped out of her thoughts, having to scramble for words to answer quickly.

“I...I’m really happy. This is exactly where I want to be right now.” She floundered slightly, tripping over her own tongue in her rush to speak. Her cheeks flushed. _That was embarrassing! Hopefully that doesn’t put him off, and isn’t too noticeable._

“Great!” He pours champagne into the glasses, and links one of his hands with hers over the table, giving it a gentle squeeze. She felt the spark ignite in her palm, and took in an intake of breath, pushing her glasses up her nose with her other hand. _He must’ve felt that, right? That was so strong and so real._

“I still can’t get over actually being out here.” He said.

“You’ll get used to it pretty quickly, I reckon.” She said. _This place can be a little disconcerting to start with, and overwhelming, but you just need to take deep breaths, and find somewhere you can go if you need a break. It’s exhausting being on all the time._

“Can I say something kind of weird?” _Hello, you’re the queen of weird, bow down my loyal subject._ She laughed at her own joke, forgetting she was actually with someone for a minute.

“Oh, sorry! Sure, fire away. Definitely not laughing at you, I promise. I just have a thing of thinking of my own jokes and laughing at them and talking too much as you can tell. What is it?” She blushed once again, not making eye contact with him. _Wow. You’re a real mess today._

“Well...the Villa is so much bigger than I thought it was going to be.” He explained. _He looks like there’s something more on his mind._

“That’s not that weird. I can likely say something weirder, I am the queen of weird. Well, according to my twin sister Quinn anyway.” _You’re talking so much more than you normally do with new people. Wow. Usually people have to unlock at least level 10 of friendship to have you rambling on at them._

“Isn’t it? I dunno. I normally watch the programme on my phone, and because that’s a small screen I thought everything here was really small too.” He said. 

“Well, when you put it like that, it is kind of weird.” She glances across at Henrik and Lottie. He’s talking enthusiastically, but she looks a little bored.

“I feel like there’s one question I really want to ask. And that’s how you’re feeling with Rocco?” Lucas asked. _Wow. He doesn’t mess around. Tell the truth here, that’ll definitely help things._

“Um… Wow. You definitely don’t sugarcoat stuff, do you? Not great, to be honest.” She was a little taken aback, her shock was likely obvious. _You can also be overly blunt yourself, and you do see that as a good thing. It’s actually good he asked, as he knows now he definitely has a shot with you._

“Yeah, I wondered if that was the case. It doesn’t look like there’s too much of a spark there. But I don’t want to come in here and immediately start upsetting everybody. I bet I’ll really like Rocco when I get to know him a bit. And everybody, really.” He explained, giving her a wide grin. _Does he feel the spark we have too, then? It can’t just be a you thing._

“I’m sure you’ll fit right in. Everyone’s really nice. Well. Nearly everyone.” She bit her lip, trying to prevent herself from spilling everything. _Wow, easy does it! Maybe you being this comfortable with him is a slight hazard, if it means you won’t be able to keep secrets as easily._

“Is that so? Interesting.” He glances along at Lottie and Henrik. Lottie’s talking emphatically, jabbing her finger at Henrik. He’s laughing really hard at whatever she’s saying.

“Hey, here’s the other question I’d like to know an answer to. While I’ve got you to myself...when you think about the person you want to end up with, what kind of mental image do you get?” He asked. She found herself studying him closely, by accident, so was able to pick up when he momentarily switched to a smouldering expression. _Wow. Is it just you or is your heartbeat going at the speed of light?_

“How do you mean?” She asked, the question intrigued her but at the same time she was trying to stay calm and collected, even though that was near impossible.

“Well, like...do you imagine them...sitting on a bus? Or on an aeroplane? Or in bed?” _Hmm. Now that is fascinating slightly._

“That’s interesting. Why do you ask?” _This feels so mysterious, which you do love._

“Answer it first. I’ll tell you why I’m asking it afterwards.” _Okay. In your kitchen at home with Sadie for company also. Someone who likes or at least tolerates cats is definitely necessary._

She mused over it for a while, eventually finding her answer. The fact Lucas didn’t rush her only made him more appealing to her.

“OK. When I think about the person I want to spend my life with, I picture them in my kitchen at home, along with my cat Sadie. She’s a good judge of character and she tends to know the true nature of someone so she’s hard to impress.” She explained. 

“Interesting.” His face was blank, he didn’t react at all to her answer, causing her to watch him carefully.

“So why does that matter?” She asked for clarification.

“It’s something a mate of mine said to me before I came in here. He said that you can tell if you’re compatible with a person by how you picture your ideal partner. Like, let’s say one person thinks about their future partner and imagines a quiet walk on a beach, but another person imagines theirs in an Ibiza superclub. Those two people aren’t going to get along in the long term.” _That’s definitely logic based, then. What about him, though?_

“So what do you imagine?” She asked him back, giving him a grin and watching him over the top of her glasses.

“I... I think I’ll keep that to myself for now.” He seemed to become a little more shy again at her reaction, tripping over his words as he looked back at her. _Wow. You have that kind of impact on him. Hmm, you do enjoy the mystery._

“Fair enough. It’s up to you if you want to play weird mind games.” She pretended to be frustrated with him, furrowing her brow and twisting her mouth slightly. 

“Well, I need to hang on to a little bit of mystery, don’t I? Anyway, I think our time’s pretty much up.” _Wow. The smoulder again! That does things to you, for sure._

As she gets up to leave, Lucas walks around the table to say goodbye.

“Anyway, thanks a lot for coming out on this date. It’s been really great.” He gave her a wide grin. She kisses him on the cheek in response, having to stretch slightly to get there due to the height difference, her heels made it a little easier. His skin is smooth. His aftershave smells expensive. She looks across to see if Henrik and Lottie noticed the kiss, but Henrik is reading Lottie’s palm, and their attention is focused on that. As she’s about to leave, he looks her in the eye.

“At the end of the day, I’m only here because I want to find the right person for me. And I know it’s early days and everything, but I really feel like that might happen. Not that I’m saying it might be with you or anything! Not that it wouldn’t be, you know, nice if it happened, or...I’m just trying to say, it’s not like I’m saying that…” he laughs and looks at her helplessly. _Oof. That’s slightly awkward. But you managed to get him tongue tied? Whoa, that never happens, usually it’s you messing up._

“It’s cool, I get it.” She gave him a warm smile in return, hoping to offer some reassurance.

“Thanks. Wow, that was embarrassing. I bet they’ll put that disaster on the show and everything.” He looked very embarrassed and a little awkward.

“I thought it was cute.” _The fact someone like him would ever consider her, wow!_

“Ah, well that’s all I needed to hear. Thanks for the date, Alecto.” He gave her a wide grin. _He likes you. Like, like likes you! Really._

She arrives back at the Villa, feeling like she’s walking on clouds. She finds it difficult to stop grinning, she probably looks a little scary now. Hope and Lottie are sitting on beanbags, she composed herself when she spots them, trying to not give anything away.

“Hey,babes! How was the date? Tell me everything.” Hope gave her a wide grin. _Someone looks happy! You definitely can’t blame her, though._

“We’re comparing notes.” Lottie explains.

“Do you guys know who else was on dates?” Alecto asked.

“Yeah, we’ve been working it out. Henrik took Alecto,Priya and me. And Lucas dated Alecto, Priya and Hope. Looks like Alecto and Priya are the order of the day.” Lottie said. _Wow._

Just at that moment, Priya walks back into the Villa.

“Hey girls!” Priya walked over to them.

“Hey. We were just saying, both you and Alecto have been super popular today.” Lottie said.

“Oh, here you all are.” Marisol said. She appeared a bit off, maybe not being chosen for a date got to her a bit.

“Hey Marisol! What have you been up to?” She gave Marisol a wide grin.

“Just sunbathing up on the roof terrace. I’ve had a pretty quiet day.” Marisol said, her voice oddly quieter than usual, she seemed a little sad, her mouth downturned. Alecto slid an arm around Marisol, feeling her lean into it. _Yup, she’s definitely off. You can definitely tell. The Gary situation is causing issues, on top of not being selected for the dates._

Lottie looks around.

“So, while it’s just us girls...let’s talk new boys.” Lottie said.

“Well, I’m all about this Henrik. He’s a bit of me. No doubt.” Priya licked her lips.

“I’m not really into this whole wilderness-man thing he’s got going on, but I have to admit I enjoyed the date a lot more than I thought I was going to.” Lottie said, looking thoughtful.

“What do you think about him, Alecto?” Priya asked.

“Henrik is not the guy for me, he’s clearly got a lot of energy and a lot of enthusiasm. I’m not about that. I was like, babe, take it down a level.” She explained.

“So, what about Lucas?” Lottie gave Alecto a wary eye. _She might have worked out how you have strong feelings for him._

“He’s sweet. Not my type, though, overall.” Priya said.

“Yeah, Lucas is alright, I guess. Our date was fine. I got a little bit bored.” Hope said. _She’s definitely lying. Don’t start drama though._

Alecto raised her eyebrow at Hope, who promptly flinched. _Whoops. You really can’t control it._

“You had a date with Lucas too, Alecto. What did you think of him?” Lottie moved in her direction, giving her a subtle nudge. _Yup, she knows something._

“He’s a bit of me. I could really see something happening there.” She said, keeping it brief, but feeling her tone go flirty.

“Ooh! Amazing.” Priya clapped her hands together in delight.

“I guess the real question is are there any of them that you’d go with over Rocco?” Lottie asked, watching her carefully.

“Yeah, Lucas.” Alecto easily said.

“Well, at least you’re consistent. That’s exactly what you said earlier.” Priya said. _Yup. That’s you in a nutshell._

Just at that moment, Lucas and Henrik walk back into the Villa.

“Alright ladies?” Henrik said.

“What did we miss?” Lucas asked.

“Not talking about us, I hope?” Henrik said. The girls look at each other for a moment, and then burst out laughing.


	15. Chapter 15

The girls are contouring, glittering, flicking, hair-spraying, hair-drying, and highlighting over in the dressing room. A chime interrupted their conversation about which accessories to match with which outfit.

“Ooooh, girls. I got a text! Bobby, gather the others.” Lottie said, her eyes sparkling with joy.

“Lottie’s got a text!” Bobby called out. 

“What’s it say?” Ibrahim asked.

“Guys! Please respect my personal breathing bubble.” Lottie said, looking slightly annoyed.  _ Yep, it is rather close for comfort in here currently. _

Everyone backs off a little.

“Thank you. Islanders, this evening you’ll be throwing a Welcome Party for the new boys.” Lottie read out.

“A party for us?” Henrik looked shocked.  _ Um, what other new guys are there? _

“I can’t believe it!” Lucas mirrors Henrik’s expression.

“That’s what the text says…” Gary points out.

“You newbies sure do need a proper welcome.” Noah smiles.

“Alright guys, give us some space so us girls can get ready for tonight.” Priya said.  _ It’s cramped in here anyway, 5 girls is too many for this room, let alone adding 7 boys! _

The boys pile out of the dressing room and the girls resume the makeup process.

“We’ve got to make a good first impression on the new boys. Let’s go downstairs and get this party started.” Lottie grinned.  _ Why do we have to be all glam 24/7? That’s not the authentic you, at all.  _

Alecto and the girls disperse around the garden. The Villa has been transformed. Neon lights swirl in time with the music.

“Now this is what I’m talking about!” Bobby looked hyped up already.

“Ooh, there’s a cocktail bar set up! I’m going to make up some drinks.” Priya heads over to the kitchen.

Rocco catches Alecto’s eye.

“Do you reckon you’ll want to try something new on tomorrow? Not that I think you should or anything… but that kit isn’t really doing your beauty justice, Alecto.”  _ How rude!  _ She kept her expression blank, not wanting to make a scene but raising her eyebrow at him. She noticed him flinch and move away, blinking in surprise.  _ Perfect. The eyebrow of displeasure will easily sort stuff out without a scene. _

She noticed Lucas had a slight smirk on his face and she looked up and made eye contact with him. The eyebrow clearly amused him.

“So, what do you new guys do on the outside then?” Rocco was able to recover from the earlier shock.

“Physiotherapist. I help people regain flexibility after injuries.” Lucas explained.  _ You’re a doctor, so he’s doing something medical related too then, so you have that in common. _

“Ah, right.” Rocco’s expression was blank.

“I’m a professional climber and wilderness survival instructor.” Henrik said.

“You know, I’ve climbed to a couple of high places in my time too. Mountains and stuff.” Rocco said.

“Oh, cool! What’s your type?” Henrik asked.  _ This might get misconstrued slightly. _

“Well, I like a girl who’s pretty out there, likes travelling and-“ Rocco started explaining.  _ Nothing like you then. _

“No, I meant your type of climb. I’m into highball bouldering at the moment.” Henrik said.

“Oh, yeah. Sure. I love all the boulders.”  _ Wow. Both of them take things overly literally then. You can maybe mess with him, but you’re not rude. _

“What’s highball bouldering?” She asked.

“Rocco? You want to-“ Henrik offered.

“No,no. You’re the new guy. You go ahead.” Rocco said.

“Highball bouldering is when the boulders are about fifteen to twenty feet high and you climb without a rope. If you fall, you’ll likely get hurt. It’s pretty dangerous, but that’s half the fun!” Henrik explained.  _ Definitely not for you, then. You’re dangerous enough in high heels or on wonky pavement slabs. _

Rocco looks a little shocked.

“It gives me such a buzz.” Henrik looked hyped.

“Um. Yeah, totally. I love that thrill.” Rocco looked out of his depth.

“And on that note, I’m going to find Marisol.” Gary said.

“Yeah, I’m going to check on Hope.” Noah said. 

“Cocktail anyone?” Priya called from the bar.

“Oh, don’t mind if I do.” Lottie grabbed one.

“You made cocktails without me? I’m literally a professional.” Rocco looked a bit miffed.

“How did you end up doing that anyway, mate? It’s not exactly the first thing I think of when I’m trying to figure out what to do with my life.” Henrik pointed out.

“But teaching rock climbing is?” Priya asked.

“They never told us that making cocktails was an option, to be fair. I wouldn’t have spent all that time getting my climbing instructors license if I’d known.” Henrik said.

Rocco laughs.

“Did you ever get that careers advice person come round and try and tell you what you should do when you left school?” Lucas asked.  _ He’s been quiet this entire time, like you really. Only talks if he has something to say. _

“Yeah. Try and guess what they said for me.” Priya asked, giving him a flirty look.

“Model, right?” Lucas guessed. Priya rolls her eyes. 

“You’re such a charmer.”  _ She looked like she was enjoying the attention. _

“The careers person said estate agent, right?” Alecto asked. 

“Um...yeah.” Priya looked surprised.  _ Likely she’d forgot your existence. _

Lucas turns to Rocco.

“Go on then, mate. What did they tell you?” He asked.

“I didn’t end up doing it so it doesn’t really matter. I don’t think that whole finish-school-and-go-off-to-work trip was for me, to be honest. I tried it, but can you see me behind a desk somewhere? You don’t get a tan like this from sitting in an office, lads.” Rocco said, he looked shifty but recovered quickly.

Alecto wanders over to the pool. She’s in need of a break, she’s already feeling herself get overwhelmed.

“Hey!” Rocco said. She looks up to notice Rocco and Marisol.  _ So much for the alone time then. _

“Oh, look! It’s Alecto.” Marisol said.  _ Hang on, both of them are looking very shifty and off. You definitely smell a rat here.  _

They move away from each other a little as she approaches.

“Hey you guys. What’s going on?” She looks between them pointedly, watching them carefully.

“Oh, nothing. Just saying to Marisol that it’s cool to be having a proper party.” Rocco explained, his expression entirely blank. 

“Yeah, it’s great. I love parties…” Marisol’s voice trailed off, and she shifted from foot to foot.

They look a little uneasy. Alecto raised an eyebrow, noticing both of them flinch much quicker than usual.  _ Yep, something’s up. You can read both of them so well to pick that up. _

“Are you both okay?” She asked warily, maintaining the same expression.

“Totally.” Rocco said.

“It’s just all a bit busy. I thought it would be nice to stand back from the crowd a little.” Marisol explained, she looked a little sad and like something was on her mind.  _ Hopefully she’s okay. You definitely understand the whole wanting to be away from the main group thing though. That’s what you are doing yourself now. _

“That’s the best thing about big parties. There’s more of a chance to get cosy with someone.” Rocco grinned.  _ That’s definitely flirting. Oh well, you’re starting to dislike him anyway so if he wants to switch it up he should go for it. _

“You know, I never thought about it like that.” Marisol grinned back at him.

“Parties are not my thing.” Alecto said, curling a loose strand of hair around her finger. She was beginning to feel shifty herself, there was a weird feeling in the air she couldn’t put a finger on.

“I’m with you, Alecto. Organised fun is always the opposite.”Marisol said. 

“What about holidays?” Rocco asked, looking surprised.

“Oh, no, babe. That’s different. I love to travel. But it’s nice to relax with no challenges or anything to worry about.” Marisol said.  _ That you partially agree with. You only have enough money to travel once per year, and that’s always back to Canada. You’re not much of a travel person, you can’t waste money in that way. _

“Easy for you to say! The boys have got two new guys to compete with now.” Rocco said, looking worried.

“Oh, of course. You’ve got nothing to worry about though, Rocco. Gary’s been so tense about it.” Marisol said.  _ Hang on. Does she like him? Rocco was also freaking out earlier. _

“How are you and Gary, Marisol?” Rocco asked.

“Not great.” She pauses a moment. Marisol and Rocco lock eyes.

“But let’s not ruin the party for Alecto with my worries. We’ll talk about it later.” She said.  _ Yup, something weird is happening. _

“Oh yeah, for sure. Marisol, do you mind if me and Alecto have a minute?” He asked.

_ Ah. He actually remembered you exist! Nice.  _

“Oh, sure, of course.” Marisol slowly walks over to the party, looking a little apprehensive.  _ Hopefully she sorts stuff out with Gary soon. You do feel sorry for her. _

Rocco pulls two bean bags next to each other and they both sink down into them.

“So, Alecto...don’t get me wrong, I know I can be a little over the top and stuff, but...how do you feel about the new guys? I overheard Marisol saying to Gary that one of the girls said you’d quite like to get with Lucas. If you feel that way, that’s okay. I’d just rather you tell me.” Rocco looked clearly off.  _ Oh shit. You completely forgot about him, and his feelings. And one of the girls is a blabbermouth then? Hope wouldn’t do that, and you’d hope Marisol also wouldn’t. Which just leaves Lottie and Priya. _

“They could be good mates.” She said softly, not meeting his eyes.  _ You still haven’t told him or Bobby about that kiss. Lottie told you not to, but you can’t help feeling off about it.  _

Rocco’s smile is full of relief.

“I know we haven’t been together for long.” Rocco touches her shoulder. “You’re so beautiful. I’m really glad that we’re together. You’re the kind of out there girl that I always go for. There’s never a dull moment with you. And I love your fashion sense, you look stunning in anything you wear.” He looks into her eyes.

“I don’t know if this is forever or just a summer romance, but... I came here to have a good time, and that’s what we’re doing. Why don’t we sneak off for a little? Just the two of us.”  _ Wow. He has no clue, does he? The mask you have up and all the fakery has him entirely fooled. You definitely don’t want to vanish off with him either, you don’t want to give him the wrong idea. Also he insulted your fashion sense earlier, he’s trying to butter you up, clearly. _

“I’d prefer to get back to the others.” She said, feeling her tone turn icy. She doesn’t want to jump to conclusions, but  _ does he like Marisol? And does she like him? And he’s the hypocrite if so, as he’s offended by you possibly liking the new guys, but can’t even give you the heads up if he likes someone else! A lot to ponder! _

She walks over to the group around the table.

“You’re filthy, Gary.” Noah said, looking shocked.  _ Hang on, what have you walked into? _

“To be fair, I was thinking it was the same thing…” Hope said.

“You said something white and sticky, Noah.” Gary defended himself.

“What are you guys doing?” Alecto asked.

“I’m trying to play an innocent game of guess the word. Gary is making it gross.” Noah sent Gary a look.  _ At least this will provide the perfect distraction from your thoughts. _

“I just didn’t know you had it in you, Noah!”Gary said.

She notices Henrik and Lucas are standing around, looking left out of the group.

_ You definitely know what it’s like to be the odd one out, you don’t want them feeling that way. Also it’s their welcome party! _

“Lucas, Henrik! Come on in.” She called them over.

They both smile at her, happy for the invitation.

“You two can help us out. We’re trying to read each other’s minds.” Hope explained.

They settle down beside her. Gary shuffles along, agitated.

“Got any clues so far or are we just guessing your entire family backstory?” Lucas asked, sarcasm veiled in his words.

“Obviously not.” Gary’s expression was blank.

“You’ve got to guess what word he’s thinking of.” Hope said.

“Noah is thinking of something that is sticky and wet and white…” Gary suppresses a laugh.  _ Mayonnaise of course! People should stop being dirty minded!  _

“Oh my word.” Lucas clearly wasn’t impressed.  _ Yup, Gary is being so childish. _

“The last clue is that you can have it on a sandwich…” Noah explains.

“Remind me never to have a sandwich from you, Noah…” Gary said.

“I know what Gary probably thinks it is…” Henrik said. “But is it mayo?”  _ Bingo! Just like you said. _

Noah looks surprised.

“You got it!” Noah smiled at him.

“Who has just mayo on a sandwich?” Gary asked.

“Free range egg, sourdough, homemade mayo...who doesn’t?” Lucas challenged him.

“Whatever, bet you can’t guess mine. They can come in all colours, shapes and sizes.” Gary begins.  _ Game on. You’re good at guessing these things! _

“Right…” Henrik said.

“They can get bigger when they’re...erected.”  _ He’s clearly trying to make a crane dirty. _

“Oh, wow. That’s-“ Lucas wasn’t impressed.

“They help build civilisations.” Gary said.

“I bet they do.” Hope gave him a cheeky grin.

“And if one was to go limp it would be devastating.” He finished his innuendo spiel.

“A crane, of course!” She grinned at him.

“Spot on Alecto!” Gary looks a little deflated.  _ Bingo! You never get these things wrong, but you’re so competitive it can be a problem. _

“They can get taller when they’re stacked, they construct buildings, and I’m assuming if one was to fall down it would be pretty destructive.” Henrik expanded.

“Yeah. That’s right...good guess, I guess.”  _ Sore loser! _

“Why did you make a crane...dirty?” Henrik asked.

“Well, I like cranes.” Gary said.

“Oh, I bet you do.” Henrik said.

“Come off it. Not like that!” Gary heads over to the kitchen.

“I need a drink.”

“Is he always like this?” Henrik was doing his kicked puppy face again.

“Guess we’ve got a lot to learn about the Villa.” Lucas said, an unexpected grin on his face.

“Don’t take it to heart. He’s really into his cranes. It’s to do with his job.” Noah explains.

“He’s like a crane operator or something.” Hope said.

“I’m sure everyone’s just a little tense. Us new guys have come in and disrupted the balance.” Lucas pointed out.

“Yeah, it must be a bit weird for you guys.” Henrik said.

“They’ll come around soon. Don’t worry about it.” Noah said.

“Come on, let’s get our party on.” Hope and Noah rush off to the dance floor.

“Um, Henrik...mind giving me and Alecto a second? I want to have a quick chat-just us two…” Lucas said.  _ He looks rather nervous! _

“Oh, right. Sure.” Henrik walks off towards the Villa.

“Let’s go up to the roof terrace for that chat, Alecto.”Lucas said, giving her a wide grin.

The other Islanders are dancing on the lawn below them.

“Sorry to get you away from the party. I wanted to say thank you for making me feel so welcome. I don’t want to be stepping on anyone’s toes though. But it means a lot, so, thank you. Which I’ve now said too many times and now it sounds weird...what am I like?” Lucas said.  _ Aww! That means a lot. He appears to do the awkward rambly thing you also do, which is reassuring. _

“You can try it on with me all you like.” She fiddled with her hair, making eye contact with him and giving him a flirty smile. The flirty tone came natural.

“Well, that’s good to know...for the future...but right now you’re with Rocco. I don’t want my first move in the Villa to be a snakey one. It’s weird coming in here when everyone’s already coupled up.” Lucas explained.  _ You definitely respect him for that. Rocco seems to be moving on, though. Maybe you should, too? _

“Alecto?” Rocco is aimlessly dancing around the garden. “Where are you guys?”  _ He sounds off, again. _

“Right on cue. I’ll go and find the other newbie and make sure he’s not standing in a corner staring into his drink.” Lucas walks off, and then stops and turns around.

“Hey, Alecto...you know when we were having that chat earlier about what we did after we finished school? Did Rocco seem a bit off to you? Like maybe he didn’t want to talk about it?” Lucas asked.  _ He’s as observant as you, then. _

“Yeah, you’re right. It was like you were all having a laugh and he didn’t like the joke. Marisol said the other day that he actually went to a really good uni but he dropped out.” She explained.

“That might be it. It did feel like he was a bit evasive. Do you think we should try and talk to him about it?” Lucas asked.

“It might help. Maybe he hasn’t talked about it very much, and that’s why he’s defensive.” She pointed out.

She left the roof terrace and headed to the kitchen, which was being used for a makeshift bar. 

Ibrahim hands Lottie a glass of purple mix with something red floating in it.

“Ibrahim...what is this?” Lottie eyed it carefully.

“Violet Man!” He looked proud of it.

“It’s named after his favourite superhero.” Priya explained.

“And...why is there a tomato slice in it?” Lottie asked.

“It’s his shield!” Alecto chipped in, moving forward to lean on the bar. Lottie jumped slightly.  _ Whoops, you have a slight habit of sneaking up on people.  _

“Yeah, that’s what I was going for.” Ibrahim grinned.

“It’s proper cute.” Ibrahim blushes at Priya. 

“We want to welcome the new boys, not scare them off.” Lottie said, smirking at him.

“Just try it.” Lottie dips her pinky in the drink and licks it tentatively.

“Um...yeah, that’s...wait. Has that got cayenne pepper and tequila in it?” Lottie looked thoughtful.

“And a little Tabasco sauce.” Priya added in.

“It’s good right?” Ibrahim asked.

“Surprisingly, yes. I’ll have one of those.” Lottie grinned.

“You alright, Gary?” Lottie asked. Alecto turned her head to spot Gary behind her.

“It all feels a little different tonight. The dynamics have changed.” Gary said.  _ Yeah, you agree there. Marisol and Rocco especially are so off. There’s definitely something up.  _

“You’re just worried that they’re bringing the boys some competition.” Priya pointed out.

“Nah, it’s not them I’m worried about to be honest...me and Marisol aren’t really seeing eye to eye.” Gary said.

“Maybe you should look elsewhere.” Alecto chipped in. He leans in towards her, turning out of earshot from the others.

“But who should I go for?” He said, keeping his voice low.

“Maybe Lottie?” She said, watching his reaction.

“You think?” He looks over at Lottie and smiles. “I won’t pretend it hasn’t crossed my mind.” Lottie looks at Alecto, suspicious.

“I feel like my ears are burning a little, Alecto.” Lottie gave her a hard stare. She kept a poker face, trying not to react. 

“Give us a glass of that stuff, Ibrahim.” Gary said.  _ Hopefully he’s good with spicy stuff. _

“You’re a brave man taking on the Violet Man.” Lottie praised him.

“I’m sure I can handle a little heat.” Ibrahim hands Gary his glass. He takes an overconfident sip.  _ That’s not going to end well. With new suspicious drinks, it makes sense in your opinion to be delicate with it. Otherwise you’d be sorry. _

“Oh, damn. Oh. Ouch! Oh, woah. That’s hot. That’s…” he sputters and coughs.

“I didn’t think it was too bad…” Lottie said. 

Gary’s face turns red.

“Are you alright, Gary?” Priya asks.

“Where did I leave my water bottle?” Gary shuffles away from the group.

Lottie comes over to Alecto and leans against the counter.

“Listen, Alecto...I know you told Gary he should get with me...important info never gets past me, hun. And you might be slightly mysterious to everyone else, but I can read you like a book. Gary is also not the best at lying so he gave it away. Truth is, you’re right. I’m wondering if something could happen between him and me. Do you really think me and Gary would make a cute couple?” Lottie asked, watching her carefully.  _ So we’re going to pretend everything’s completely normal, then? Like we didn’t kiss, and there hasn’t been this odd tension between us? Did she ever have feelings for you, or was that also a lie? It appears that everything is slowly beginning to blow up before your eyes. What about you, do you like her in that way or even at all? You don’t even know the answer to that. _

Alecto hears a tapping noise next to her and snaps out of her head. She realises that she has left Lottie hanging, and she scrambles for an answer while trying to pretend everything’s just fine.

“Yeah, go get him.” She focused on keeping her voice completely stable, but quiet, while focusing on her hands and twisting them together. Meeting Lottie’s eyes wouldn’t be wise, she was aware Lottie might be able to actually read her full thoughts through them.

“You think I should?” Lottie asked.  _ Excellent. She’s too distracted by the possibility of her and Gary to pick up that you’re a little off. _

“For sure.” She flashed a small smile at Lottie, then focusing back on her hands again. She uncurled her hands and rested them on the counter, tracing the scars on her left hand with her right hand. So far no one had noticed anything about her hands, it was a relief to be free from the barrage of questions. She was aware some of her fingers would never be entirely straight, but dealing with people being arseholes about it was far from her favourite pastime. 

“I’m just a bit worried, you know. Because of Hannah...Girl code is important to me, Alecto. Ibrahim, can I get one of those Violet Men to go, please, and also a glass of milk?” Lottie got ready to leave.  _ Hannah? She wasn’t even coupled up with Gary at the start. If anything, it shows she entirely forgot about you. Are you really that easy to forget? Hannah messed up a good coupling with Noah for no reason that you could find, and fell for Gary out of nowhere. She’s not a delicate porcelain doll, she doesn’t need this much babying by people. _

Without her realising, Alecto had clenched her hand into a tight fist. Worrying herself about this situation would hardly help matters, all it caused was stressing herself out for no reason and causing injury to herself.

“Milk?” Ibrahim asked.

“It’s for Gary. Milk is good for settling down spice.” He hands her two glasses, she takes a large gulp of the Violet Man.

“It really isn’t that hot… I’ll go and make sure he’s okay.” Lottie left in hot pursuit of Gary.

“What drink would you like, Alecto?” Ibrahim asked. She blinked, jumping slightly and looking at Ibrahim.

“Violet Man for me, please.”  _ This could be a massive mistake. You do suck spice wise.  _

“You’ll give it a try? Excellent.” Ibrahim tries to flip the shaker in the air. It splatters up the ceiling.  _ That could so easily have been you. You’re so clumsy you should have a bell on. _

“Ibrahim! How did you manage to get tomato up there?” Priya said in surprise, looking at the ceiling.

“Oops.” He garnishes what he can salvage of her drink with a tomato cut into the shape of a heart.

“One Violet Man!” Ibrahim grinned. 

“I didn’t get a heart…” Priya looked sad. Ibrahim shifted, looking around the kitchen awkwardly. The tension was hanging in the air. 

Drink in hand, Alecto heads out of the kitchen.

The Islanders are out in the garden dancing.

“I call this one the bombe glacée.” Bobby said, doing a strange move which Alecto had never seen in her life.

“Teach me that move, Bobby!” Lucas said.

“Alecto! Come dance with me!” Lottie beckoned her over.  _ She’s in a good mood then.  _

She moved in Lottie’s direction, feeling her link hands and spin her around once they had gotten close enough to one another. She wobbled, focusing on remaining on her feet.  _ It’s definitely not the alcohol, you struggle with dancing sober. _

“You look great!” Lottie grinned at her.

“Thanks! You look beautiful.” She returned Lottie’s grin, finding herself flirt slightly with her.  _ Be careful. Don’t let her play with your heart.  _

“You really think?” There was a small hint of vulnerability in Lottie’s eyes, she blinked and it had vanished.

“Who wouldn’t!” She flirted slightly again, keeping an eye on Lottie’s reaction.  _ Hmm. She appears to be responding well, but does she just assume that you’re just being nice and stuff? Don’t over think it too much.  _

“Mind if I have a quick dance with Alecto, Lottie?” Lucas asked, a wide grin on his face. Alecto’s eyes flicked in Lucas’ direction, giving him a small smile. It was different to the grin she just had, mainly as it was more vulnerable and true to herself.

“Don’t ask me. Ask Rocco!” Lottie replied.

“Ask me what?” Rocco asked.  _ Speak of the devil. _

“Never mind. Gary, let’s see those moves.” Lucas and Gary start dancing together. Rocco joins in, shimmying. She looks up at Lucas over Lottie’s shoulder, noticing his neutral expression until it changes.  _ He must really like you then. _


	16. Chapter 16

Alecto blinks her eyes open, and looks around.

“Morning ladies!” Hope called out. _Wow. It’s far too early to be that loud. But her enthusiasm is a little infectious._

“Shh, people are sleeping…” Alecto replied, keeping her voice low and holding a finger to her lips.

“Are they? Most of the boys seem to have gone for an early morning gym session…” Hope explained, speaking a little softer anyway.

Alecto looks around and realises she’s right. Rocco is gone. Noah is the only boy still in bed, curled up next to Hope. _Wow, they were quick at disappearing._

“So I thought this would be a good time for us girls to catch up.” Hope said. _There’s absolutely no way you’re going back to sleep now, anyway. Once you’re up, that’s it._

Priya sits up to join in the conversation.

“I bet Henrik was the one getting them to work out early in the morning. I love his energy. Although I think someone else might have their eye on Lucas.” Priya looks at Alecto and winks. _It was her, then. But why would she do that?_

“Maybe you’re right.” Alecto felt herself start to sink into a daydream, her voice gaining a dream like quality to it.

“I thought I might be. I saw you two having a little chat up on the roof terrace last night.” Priya said. _There’s no privacy here, is there?_

Hope props herself up on her elbows, keenly interested.

“You and Lucas, huh?” Hope gave her a flirty smile, and Alecto felt her cheeks get warm. She knew she was likely blushing right now, crush mode had definitely been activated. _Yep, you’ve definitely been given away here. Curse how easily you get embarrassed!_

“I’d like to know him better.” She replied, her voice becoming wistful and dreamy. 

Hope covers Noah’s ears as he dozes.

“I thought that too, after our date.” Hope grinned.

“Looks like there might be a little competition in the air.” Priya said, looking interested.

Hope checks to make sure Noah is still asleep.

“I don’t think you girls would blame me if I was a little bit interested in new boys coming in. But I didn’t think I was the only one. Someone else seemed to take a little shine to one of them yesterday…” Hope gestures over at Lottie, and Lottie’s eyes immediately flick open.

“I can sense when you’re talking about me, you know.” Lottie said, her words veiled in sarcasm.

“That’s so weird!” Hope said, giving Lottie a wary look.

“Nah, I’m just kidding. I was awake.” Lottie explained. Priya turns to Lottie.

“What are you thinking about the new boys, then?” Priya asked. Lottie scowls at her. _Yup, they still don’t like one another. Not your problem._

“I like them. And I’m not exactly falling head over heels for Bobby. So I definitely think my head could be turned.” Lottie explained. _Fair. She’s in a friendship couple, like you and Marisol currently._

“You and Henrik are a good match.” Alecto gave her a subtle hint, tilting her head slightly like an owl.

“Maybe I should spend some more time with him. I think I’m going to chat to the boys today and try and work out what’s what. Maybe see if I can’t work my magic on one of them.” Lottie said, smirking slightly.

“That’s the best thing about this situation, really. There’s seven boys and five girls. We’ve got a whole buffet of boys to choose from...and with numbers like that, I’m pretty sure we’re not going to be the ones going home next!” Hope pointed out. _Hang on. ‘Buffet’. That’s slightly objectifying._

Alecto raised an eyebrow pointedly, aiming her expression at Hope, who flinched slightly.

“Makes a change.” Lottie said, pouting slightly. Alecto glances over at Noah, still sleeping next to Hope.

“With this many boys, it’s like...pick your favourite!” _Has she forgotten Noah, after she was so persistent with the Hannah situation? Wow._

“I thought you were set on Noah?” Alecto asks,watching Hope carefully.

“I am, but we both know we’re here to have a good time. I’m just enjoying the eye candy! We’ve got a whole day with nothing to do but check out the new boys. I was hoping we could all take a step back from the drama and enjoy this time for what it is.” Hope said.

“A day in the sun and enough sexy men to make two boy bands?” Priya said.

“Or three Man-2-Man strip acts?” Hope said.

“Or we choose one boy to each be our servant for the day, and then we make the two leftover boys wrestle.” Lottie said. _Okayy. The power is getting to their heads. Apart from Marisol, where even is she?_

“Well, whatever your thing is...today is going to be fun!” Hope said excitedly.

Alecto’s just about to head outside when Rocco catches up with her in the bedroom. He glances around.

“Have you got a minute?” He asked. She looks around. The bedroom is empty…

“If you’re quick.” She said. _Maybe you can find out why he was acting strange yesterday._

“I just wanted to find out where your head’s at...with the new boys coming in and everything. I know you said before that you thought you might be mates with them...but I wanted to know how you felt this morning.” Rocco said, looking a little shifty.

“I’m definitely going to chat to them. I’m not saying I’m going to jump ship straight away or anything...but we’ve only known each other for about six days. Of course I’m still going to be chatting to other people.” She said, watching him warily. _Was that too blunt and honest? He might not take it well._

“Right, then. I didn’t expect you to come out and say that so openly, to be honest. I guess I’ll keep myself open as well then. I don’t want to be looking like a fencepost while you’re off playing the field. Obviously, I’m not exactly fine with you grafting on other people…” Rocco snapped, glaring at her. _While it’s okay if he does it? Hello, pot meet kettle. He expects to have your entire loyalty, and likely hasn’t realised that you two are a bad fit._

“I don’t need your permission. If I want to chat to them, I will.” Her voice turned cold and icy, and she raised an eyebrow, combined with a fierce glare. Rocco flinched back at the combination.

“Woah! I was just trying to be chill about it. No need to get leggy!” He said, putting his hands up in an attempt to placate her.

“I’m not. You were telling me what I can and can’t do. I don’t really appreciate that.” Alecto explained. She didn’t want a fight, but she wanted to be honest with him. _He’s sounding so much like Étienne now. Blaming you for his own issues. The red flag is becoming a flashing beacon._

“I was just trying to be upfront about it. Obviously this is great for you girls...we loved it when there were more girls in the Villa, but it’s not fun now the shoe is on the other foot. One of us boys is definitely in danger at the next recoupling and we’re all feeling it. Why else do you think Gary’s been out there doing weights all morning?” Rocco said.

“It’s good that you’re nervous.” She said, giving him a blank expression.

“What? Why?” He looked very perplexed.

“Because I haven’t made up my mind yet.” She glides out of the room, leaving Rocco with his mouth hanging open. _Your question remains a mystery._

Hope, Noah and Marisol are lounging on the daybeds as she walks over. Noah has his head in Hope’s lap, and she’s plucking at his eyebrows with a pair of tweezers.

“So, what’s up?” Hope asked, grinning at her.

“I just want to chill.” Alecto said, pushing her glasses up her nose and settling in the free space on the daybed.

“Me too. I like to watch what’s going on before I jump right in. I like to have the facts first, and then make a decision.” Marisol said. _Hang on. Where was she earlier? You were slightly concerned about her!_

“You didn’t go and chat to Henrik yet, did you?” Hope asked. _Nope. You prefer Lucas._

“I’m not fussed.” Alecto kept her words short.

“I don’t blame you. You can learn just as much from here. I’ve been watching Henrik and Gary. Henrik is so animated, but Gary is much more reserved. It’s almost like they want to be friends, but Gary isn’t sure yet because all the boys are in competition. I bet Lottie is flirting with Henrik, and Gary is jealous that he’s not getting as much attention. Don’t you think that’s likely, Alecto?” Marisol studied her carefully.

“I’d be flirting with Lottie if I was there.” Alecto said, feeling herself sink deep into her thoughts, and using a flirty tone. _You definitely like Lottie, a bit. You’re just not sure what’s happening there._

“Mmm. I might be too.” Marisol turns her eyes back to the gym. “I don’t think Gary and I are going to work out.” Alecto stretched over, grabbing Marisol’s hand and squeezing it gently. Marisol returned the gesture, flashing her a soft smile before her expression fell again.

“You’ve watched him flirting at the gym for ten minutes and now you think he’s not the one? You’re the one coupled up with him. I think the decision should be based on a bit more than that.” Noah pointed out. _He does have a point. At the same time, this decision has been happening for days now._

“Noah’s right. And I think you’re looking for a way out.” Hope agreed. Marisol arches slightly, as though she’s uncomfortable with Hope’s suggestion.

“You know he’s totally into you, right?” Hope said.

“I know. And I don’t know how I feel about that. What if someone else in here is a better match for me? I don’t know. I’ve been watching Rocco and Lucas chatting, and I think their body language is very interesting. It’s almost as though they’re in a competition for Priya’s attention, but they don’t want to admit it. Look at how Lucas stands with his head tilted, like he’s listening intently...and Rocco is standing in almost exactly the same pose, just reversed. Doesn’t it seem like Rocco is a little flustered? Do you think he’s worried about losing face in front of the new boys? Or maybe someone else is on his mind?” Marisol analysed. _She’s talking a lot about Rocco. More than the other boys. Does she like him? Why else would she care about him so much? Don’t accuse her without proof, though._

“I’m more interested in Lucas.” Alecto let go of Marisol’s hand, linking her fingers together and focusing on Hope and Noah. She could sense eyes on her from Marisol, but ignored it entirely. This situation was making her feel a little funny, far from good, she had a sinking feeling she knew what was happening. 

“I don’t blame you. He’s gorgeous.” Hope grinned.

Noah does a double take.

“Nice to know you’re paying attention, babes. By the way...did you go and chat to Bobby and Ibrahim?” Hope asked.

“Not yet.” She said.

“Perhaps you should.” Hope said. _Hmm. Mysterious._

“I saw Ibrahim and Bobby heading off together, and I was sure I heard them talking about something to do with cactuses and sports. I have no idea what that’s about.” Marisol explained.

“Interesting…” Noah said.

Alecto stood, a strange feeling resting in her stomach. She felt weird omens which were starting to get to her majorly and she needed a distraction.

Lucas, Priya and Rocco are lounging at the poolside. Priya grins and whispers to Alecto as she walks over.

“Come and listen to this.”

“I guess I’m not so much about the ‘spiritual journey’ when I travel. I’d rather know I was helping people.” Lucas said. _Bingo. You agree there, helping others is more important. Being a doctor does mean that caring about people is part of the job._

“You don’t have to travel. With tools like meditation, you can take a spiritual journey without even leaving your house.” Rocco said.

“I always wanted to join Doctors Without Borders. I don’t think there is something called ‘Doctors Crossing the Astral Plane’.” Lucas joked. Both Alecto and Priya giggled in response, causing Rocco to glare at Lucas, slightly lost for words.

“I’m just kidding with you, mate. Oh hi, Alecto.” Lucas said. Rocco turns around and notices her for the first time.

“Alecto, ma cherie! I didn’t see you there. Lucas was just telling us all about his plans to travel and help people around the world.” Rocco explained. Alecto winced slightly. _He entirely butchered the pronunciation of ‘ma cherie’. Can he actually speak French or is he trying and failing to impress you? French is your first language which means you don’t take kindly to people butchering it. Also you are a slight ghost, so it’s understandable how he didn’t spot you immediately._

“Rocco thinks his food truck is the same thing.” Lucas said, not looking impressed. _The truck isn’t the same thing. That’s obvious._

“Motorbike or truck, what’s the difference?” Rocco snapped. 

“Lucas is so selfless. I think it’s amazing that he wanted to join Doctors Without Borders. As a doctor myself, I understand the draw of wanting to care for and help people. It was part of the driving force for my career decision myself.” Alecto said, watching Lucas grin at her and Rocco’s face fall. _Rocco has this coming, remember. For once someone exists who you actually like. You deserve a bit of luck in here._

“I agree. I like a guy who’s selfless like that. Mixing drinks and leading meditation sessions is great, but I’m definitely interested in what Lucas has to offer too.” Priya agreed.

“You obviously haven’t tried one of my meditation sessions yet. I bet I could take you to places you’ve never been…” Rocco flirted blatantly with Priya. _Wow. Everything he said this morning was a lot of bullshit then. Nice._

Alecto’s eyes sparked with anger, but she controlled it, curling a loose curl of hair around her finger. She glances seductively at Lucas and bites her lip.

“I’m more interested in the places Lucas could take me. Did I hear you say you own a motorbike?” She pointedly ignored Rocco, focusing on Lucas.

“Sure do. I’d love to take you for a ride sometime, if you’re up for that.” Lucas winks at her, making her insides turn to jelly.

“Well, I’ve obviously said enough here. I’ll see you guys in a bit.” Rocco gets to his feet and walks off quickly. _Aha! Beat him at his own damn game._

“Well that was…”Lucas trailed off.

“That was Rocco.” Priya finished, the conversation fading away into silence.

Bobby and Ibrahim are whispering to each other when Alecto walks over.

“What are you guys talking about?” She asked.

“Oh...it’s nothing.” Bobby shifted from foot to foot.

“It’s not nothing. It’s well sportswear.” Ibrahim said. _Huh? What’s going on?_

“Aw man, now you’ve given it away already!” Bobby glared at him, not able to be that intimidating as he just looked like an angry puppy.

“Fine, I don’t care then.” She kept her expression blank, being as natural as she could. _Maybe this will trick them into spilling._

“You would if you knew.” Ibrahim said. 

Bobby sighs.

“OK, we’ll tell you. But only if you don’t go around telling everyone yet, otherwise it won’t be funny.” Bobby said.

“Is that cool?” Ibrahim asked.

“I did say before I wasn’t interested.” She kept up the pretence.

“Suit yourself.” Bobby said, looking sad.

“You’ll be sorry when you see how succulent this is, though.” Ibrahim looked sad too.

Alecto’s walking across the lawn when she notices Rocco sitting by himself.

“Hey.” She said.

“Oh, hey. Sorry. I needed a moment to myself.” Rocco said.

“I didn’t realise what we said was such a big deal.” Alecto said, watching him warily.

“Oh, it wasn’t that. I just get caught up thinking about how life could have been different, you know? You know I was going to be an accountant after I left school?” Rocco said.

“I think you’d be good at it.” She said.

“So did a lot of other people. I went to uni to study economics as soon as I left school. I’d done really well in my A Levels and one of my teachers at college had encouraged me to go. I was going to show everyone I was going to do well and be successful and go get a great job afterwards. And then...it didn’t really work out like that.” He explained.

“You don’t have to talk about it.” She said.

“I know. But they’re all going to find out eventually. I feel a bit more comfortable now that we all know each other better. When I actually got there, it was so much harder than I thought it would be. The people who encouraged me to go to uni didn’t mention that leaving behind everyone you know is actually really difficult. I know they meant well, but no-one had said to me it’s OK if you feel a bit lost at first’. And then when I did feel lost it seemed like everyone else was having fun, which made it harder to actually say anything.”

Bobby and Gary walk over, laughing about something.

“Alright, you lot. What are you chatting about?” Gary asked.

“Nothing much.” Rocco said.

“I’ll go get us a drink.” She started to move. _Maybe get out of here, let them handle it._

Bobby looks at her, and then at Rocco.

“Sorry mate, didn’t realise we were interrupting.” Bobby said.

Alecto’s just about to walk away when she hears a phone beep.

“Guys! I got a text!” Priya called out.

All the Islanders gather round.

“Islanders-it’s time to find out who’s been naughty, and who can keep their mouth shut in today’s challenge: ‘Kiss and Tell’!” Priya read out.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: this chapter contains skin picking and discussion of skin picking. So just giving a quick heads up in terms of trigger warnings. If there’s anything else in the future I’ll chuck it in notes at the start.

“Guys! I got a text!” Priya called out.

All the Islanders gather round.

“Islanders-it’s time to find out who’s been naughty, and who can keep their mouth shut in today’s challenge: ‘Kiss and Tell’!” Priya read out.

“What do you think that means?” Hope asked.

“Get lippy? Sounds like we’re going to be doing some kissing…” Priya pouts and winks at the boys. _This is like drama waiting to happen._

“Everyone kissing each other? That’s going to ramp up the tension in here for sure.” Alecto said, her voice soft and unsure.

“I’m totally looking forward to it. I love a challenge. I’ve been looking forward to getting to know you all, and there’s no better way to do that than up close and personal.” Henrik said.

“I guess we’d better go get ready, girls. We want to be looking our best, if that’s what it’s all about.” Hope grinned.

“We’re not the only ones. You boys all better brush your teeth if you think we’re going to be kissing you.” Lottie said.

There’s a row of question marks facing each other on the floor of the challenge stage. On one side is a giant blackboard with columns marked ‘Girls’ and ‘Boys’.

“I guess it’s a girls vs boys challenge.” Rocco pointed out. _Hello Captain Obvious! Nice to see you today._

“Mate, we could use someone as smart as you down at the docks. I don’t think I could have figured that out by myself.” Gary said, a layer of sarcasm hidden in his words.

“OK boys, take your places.” Hope instructed.

All the Islanders stand on one of the question marks. Alecto feels her phone vibrate, and reads the text.

“Islanders, in your teams you will have to decide which person you think ‘did the deed’ in a scenario drawn from a deck of cards. Then one of the team members must kiss the person on the opposite team who you think is the answer. Every correct answer earns the team a point. The winning team will get cocktails this evening! #getlippy.”

“So let me get this straight - we read something on a card and then decide who we want to kiss? Isn’t there any reason why we shouldn’t just kiss whoever we want?” Rocco said. _Uh oh, you can so smell drama approaching._

“Yeah, because then you won’t get the points.” Gary pointed out.

“So I can either play to win, or I can use this as a chance to kiss some people?” Rocco grinned. Alecto was finding it so difficult to maintain a straight face, she wanted to show her disapproval, but fiddled with her bracelet and looked into the distance.

“Mate, what is it with you and these challenges?” Gary asked, watching him carefully.

“There’s no reason why you shouldn’t just kiss who you want, Rocco.” Marisol pointed out, giving him a flirty look. _There must be something between those two. Or you’re being an idiot, again. Always possible._

“Yes there is! He’s coupled up with Alecto!” Lottie protested. _She’s blowing hot and cold currently, but it’s probably a good thing she’s on your side for this game. Rocco is far too up for this game, but you’re not forward enough to come out with that._

Hope notices Alecto frowning, and rests a hand on her shoulder.

“Babe, it’s just a game. If Rocco’s going around kissing whoever he likes, he’s not going to be winning. Those cocktails are ours.” Hope said. _Hmm. True, you do enjoy a good competition._

“Should we just get on with it? Ladies first, I think…” Priya said.

“Just try and stop me.” Hope draws the top card from the deck and reads it aloud.

“The boy who spent more than £500 on a first date is…”

All the boys stand still on their marks.

“They’re trying not to give anything away.” Marisol said.

“Good work team. Show no emotion. We’re playing to win this challenge.” Henrik said. _Really? Not Rocco, surely._

“Mate, Rocco doesn’t even understand the game he’s playing.” Gary said.

Hope draws the girls into a huddle.

“OK ladies, I’m going to have to kiss one of these boys. What are we thinking?” Hope asked.

“Come on, it has to be Lucas. The dude is so obviously loaded.” Lottie pointed out. _Not necessarily. You personally think Rahim would. Besides, Lucas hates being perceived as posh._

“That doesn’t mean he’d be shelling out, though. Rocco would remortgage his van to pay for dinner if he thought it would impress a girl.” Priya said.

“Does no-one else think it would be Ibrahim?” Marisol asked. _Aha! Shared brain strikes again._

“Woah, I hope so. Kobe beef, champagne, and him just sitting there smouldering all night? Sign me up.”

“Yeah, I agree. It’s definitely Rahim.” Alecto said.

“I think that’s the right choice. We know he earns good money, and he likes to impress people.” Marisol agreed.

“If that’s what you all think, that’s what I’m gonna do. Are you ready, boys?” Hope makes her way over to Rahim,the kiss is quick and gentle, and she’s back to the girls before Alecto knows it.

“Really putting it out there, Hope!” Bobby said.

Noah glances at Hope, but his face hardly changes.

“I guess I should come clean. It was me.” Rahim said. _Bingo! That was easy._

“Too easy, I reckon.” Gary said.

“I just like to make sure people have a good time…” Ibrahim said, trailing off.

All the girls look at each other, then back at Ibrahim. Priya looks especially interested.

“It’s not all about the money. Just because someone spends a lot, doesn’t mean you’ll have a good time.” Alecto pointed out. She was the furthest thing from materialistic ever, she much preferred a more lowkey date to something overly posh.

“It’s like that song...money can’t buy you love.” Rocco said. _That you agree with him about._

“It can buy you a lobster and black truffle mac and cheese though, and that’s pretty close.” Priya grinned.

“I prefer to cook what I can forage to impress a date. It’s so much more heartfelt.” Henrik said.

“So you just like,pick food in the woods and serve it to people?” Marisol asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Of course. One time I made my date fried mushrooms with blackberry sauce on a bed of edible lichen. It was delicious!” Henrik grinned.

“As much as I want to hear more about what bears eat for dinner, I think it’s our go lads.” Gary draws a card.

“OK, this one says ‘The girl who once got a full makeover just for a movie night with her mates…’” He said, grinning. _Not you. Definitely not, you’re not a big makeup person. It’s likely Priya._

All the boys immediately start discussing and pointing at the girls. 

“Come on, ladies. Don’t give anything away.” Hope said, keeping her face blank.

“They’re not even paying attention to what we’re saying. But we’re all thinking the same thing, right? It’s got to be Alecto. I don’t think I’ve ever been around someone who puts so much effort into looking good.” Lottie said,nudging her and smirking. _Nope. She’s barking up the wrong tree._

“I’d never go that far. I’ve never really done something as full-on as that.” Alecto bit her lip, worrying it with her teeth.

“Yeah, it’s me. I look good for me, so there’s no reason not to do it all the time.” Priya said, grinning. _Called it!_ Alecto cast her eyes towards Priya. 

“OK, we’ve chosen.” Gary said.

“See, he wasn’t listening at all. I swear sometimes we could be whispering the naughtiest stuff right in their ears and these boys wouldn’t even notice.” Lottie whispered in Alecto’s ear.

She watches as Gary walks over.

“So, the girl we think is the most likely to get a full makeover for a night in is…” Gary walks up to Alecto, and leans in to kiss her on the lips. She purses her lips, and presses them gently against Gary’s. _Yup,he so wasn’t listening._

“Way to go, guys. This game is turning out really sexy.” Bobby encouraged. _Does he want drama, or something?_

“Mate, just cos no-one has given a footrub yet… Anyway, we think it’s Alecto.” Gary said.

“And that is...completely wrong!” Hope said, grinning widely.

“What?” Henrik looked very surprised.

“It was me.” Priya said. Alecto cast her eyes towards Priya. 

“She’s permanently dressed to kill and it’s like you boys don’t even notice.” Lottie looked disappointed.

“Which puts us girls in the lead.” Hope said.

“Who’s going next?” Lottie asked.

“I think it should be Alecto’s go…” Hope said. _Pressure, much._ Before Alecto can say anything, she’s pulled the top card from the deck.

“Alecto, your challenge is to find the boy who has…’had the most sexual partners’!” Hope said. _That could start drama. You’re thinking Gary, anyway._

“That’s so juicy!” Priya licked her lips.

“It’s the question we’ve all been waiting for.” Lottie said.

“Come on in, ladies. This one needs a serious discussion.” Hope draws all of them into a huddle.

“OK, which boy has been with the most girls?” Hope asked.

“Rocco.” Lottie said.

“Yep. Rocco.” Priya said.

“What?” Marisol looked surprised. _She must like him. She keeps acting off when he’s mentioned._

“To be fair, Rocco was the first name in my head too.” Hope pointed out.

“Let’s think of other options.” Alecto said, fiddling with her hair. _That’s not because you like him, you definitely don’t._

“I agree. I don’t think we should judge Rocco just for the way he comes across. Maybe he’s a lot more sensitive than you all realise. I think he cares more about deep, meaningful connections.” Marisol defended him. _Okayy. Something is so off there. You have a nasty feeling that it will come to light today._

“You’re the one that’s got to go up there and kiss someone, Alecto...what do you think?” Hope asked.

“I’d say Gary.” Alecto kept her words blunt and to the point.

“I was thinking Rocco, to be honest, but Gary’s a good shout too. He’s got the looks for it, and we know he likes going out a lot.” Lottie said.

“Yeah. I’m thinking there’s been a whole lot of one-night stands for that boy.” Priya said.

“I think you should go with Rocco.” Hope said.

“Come on, girls. We’re waiting.” Bobby said. He pouts his lips,ready for a kiss. “We all know it’s me.”

Alecto steps forward, and glances down the line of boys. She walks over to where Gary is standing, and smiles at him. He grins back and purses his lips.

“You really think it’s me?” Gary asked, looking confused.

Gary closes his eyes for a kiss, and then opens them again when he feels her lips on his cheek.

“OK, that’s cute. And I bet Rocco appreciates it too.” Lottie said.

“What happened to us agreeing it was Rocco? That’s not exactly playing for the team, Alecto.” Hope said, watching her warily. _Wait. Marisol didn’t think it was Rocco, both Lottie and Priya agreed Gary was a good shout, and you were certain it was Gary. So 3 out of 5 people was good going._

“So the question on everyone’s lips...or on Gary’s cheek, in this case...was Alecto right?” Henrik asked.

“I’m not usually one to boast about this, but...all the lads know it’s me.” Gary said. _Bingo! You’re yet to get it wrong._

Marisol raises an eyebrow.

“All the lads know? And I don’t?” She looked slightly sad.

“Yeah, we talked about it on the first day. This guy has some serious numbers!” Bobby said.

“Well played, Alecto. I guess we were wrong about Rocco.” Hope said. _The fact she apologised was good._

“Does anyone mind if I have a turn?” Lucas asked.

“Listen to how polite he is! I think that’s the first thing he’s said this whole time. You go ahead, honey.” Hope encouraged. _Yeah, he has been quiet, like you._

“Yeah, go for it mate.” Gary said.

Lucas draws a card.

“‘The girl who was once kicked out of a club for dancing on the tables…’” Lucas trailed off. _That’s so Hope! You wouldn’t mind kissing him though._

The boys immediately start talking over each other. Priya waits until they’re definitely not listening and whispers to Alecto. “OK ladies, fess up. Which one of you was it?” 

“To be honest, I think it would be Alecto.” Marisol said. _Really? Not your style. You’d think she would know that._

Alecto struggles to keep a straight face, eventually giving up and raising both eyebrows in surprise.

“Oh my gosh, of course!” Hope agreed. 

“Do you think so?” She asked sceptically.

“I can totally see you getting up and dancing on the tables and having a good time!” Marisol explained. _One, you can’t dance without causing injury. Two, you’re the most introverted introvert to introvert. You must be pulling off quite an extrovert mask to fool people this much. Three,you thought she knew you somewhat well._

“That’s not my style.” She said softly, focusing on her hands. She hated being the centre of attention.

“I feel you. I always figured if I was in the mood to get up and dance on the table... I definitely wasn’t going to be able to stay on my feet when I did!” Priya said.

“Who was it, then?”Marisol looked in disbelief.

“I think it’s Hope.” She said, softly, hoping her words wouldn’t disappear. She was gradually feeling herself start to fade away.

“I’m not going to deny it. I have done that before.” Hope said. _Okay, streak of 4 and counting._

“Ladies, are you ready?”Lucas said.

They all turn and face the boys.

“So we all got together, and the girl we thought was most likely to be getting up on the tables in the club was...Alecto!” _Wrong! So wrong._ Lucas runs over to her and goes in for a kiss. His lips are soft, and slightly sweet, as they touch hers. He pulls away and smiles at her. _Okay, even that gentle of a kiss sends your heart into a tailspin, but you want to be fair to everyone which means waiting until you’re fully coupled up with Lucas to be more romantic with him._

“Good answer, but wrong.” Priya grinned.

“What? How?” Bobby looked confused.

“Obviously it’s Hope.” Priya explained.

“I should have seen that coming, to be fair.” Noah said.

“Which means it’s our turn again.” Priya said.

“You better watch out, boys.” Lottie said.

“One of us is coming to kiss you!” Marisol runs up to the stack of cards, and grabs the top one. _She looks flirty. Uh oh._ Alecto feels her heart start to race, and she feels sick. She struggles to even look at Marisol.

“OK, I’ve got to find… ‘the boy who gets a back, sack, and crack wax every month’?” Marisol said. _That’s so not Rocco. Maybe Bobby?_

Lottie smirks at the boys.

“I’m glad one of you is suffering to stay beautiful.” She said.

“They’re all pretty well-groomed, to be fair.” Marisol said, keeping a straight face.

“On the surface, sure. But what about when you get down there and it’s just like...a rainforest?” Priya winces, looking pained.

“I don’t get why people care so much. It’s just hair. Personality is more important.” Alecto said, her voice even softer than before. She notices how the other girls have to lean in to hear her. She notices Lottie and Hope watching her carefully and sharing glances. _Hmm. They might have noticed something’s up._

“More power to you, babes. It’s not for me, though.” Priya explained.

“So who do we think it is, then? Let’s rule out Rocco and Henrik,for sure. Both of them are all about that rugged lifestyle and living au naturel.” Lottie said.

“Agreed. I’m definitely not seeing those boys in a salon any time soon.” Priya agreed.

“Agreed. And I know it’s not Noah.” Hope said.

“So, who’s left?” Priya asked.

“I think the guy most likely to get a full-body wax is Bobby.” Alecto chipped in, her voice remaining just underneath a whisper.

“I bet he would, actually. He’s all about being bang on trend.” Lottie agreed, nudging Alecto.

“Sounds like we’re all in agreement then. Marisol, you should kiss…” Hope trails off.

Alecto turns to where Marisol was standing, and realises she’s already walked off towards the boys. Her stomach sinks when she realises. _You don’t like him in that way, but this is going to hurt._

“Looks like someone couldn’t wait to get her lips on us!” Bobby calls out joyfully.

Before anyone else can react Marisol walks straight up to Rocco and kisses him. All eyes turn to Alecto, waiting for her reaction. She blinks, feeling hot tears behind her eyes but managing to hold them back. 

“W...what? It’s...just a game.” She tries to pretend to be fine, but her voice cracks twice. She feels Hope gently put an arm around her shoulders and she relaxes into it. She pushes her glasses up her nose, then fiddles with her bracelet. She knows that if she doesn’t stay occupied, she’ll definitely pick at the skin of her hands out of stress. She lets go of her bracelet and starts worrying at the scar across her palm, opening it and making it bleed. The pain gives her a focus and she’s able to keep from breaking down.

“Not cool, you guys.” Lottie looked at them in disbelief, staring with blazing green eyes.

“Did you not hear us saying it definitely wouldn’t be Rocco?” Hope sounded disappointed and strokes Alecto’s arm in an attempt to comfort her.

“I wanted to get on with playing the game.” Marisol explained, her expression blank. _How does she have no idea what she’s doing?_

“I think some of us are playing more of a game than others, _babe._ ” Lottie snaps at Marisol, the venom in her voice making Alecto flinch. Hope strokes her back, noticing her reaction.

“Speaking of which, maybe we should crack on? This game is properly heating up.” Bobby looked happy about the drama.

“I want to keep things spicy. Go on Rocco, take a card.” Rahim encourages Rocco.

Rocco looks around, and then grabs the top one.

“So I’ve got to kiss the girl who… ‘cancelled a romantic weekend with her girlfriend because her friend got stood up on a blind date’.” Rocco read. _Oh no. Of course he gets your card. He’s going to definitely kiss her again._

“Well it wasn’t Marisol, was it?” Lottie snapped again, raising her voice. Alecto wanted so desperately to cover her ears, it felt like she was going back in time until before her parents divorced and they would constantly yell at each other. She fought hard to not have a reaction.

“What?” Marisol looked confused.

“Whoever did that is a girl who cares more about her mates than her girlfriend.” Lottie snapped again, maintaining that tone. 

“Come on Lottie. It was just a kiss.” Priya tried to calm her.

Hope waits until the boys are distracted.

“Who was it, then?” Hope asked.

“Alecto always puts the girls first. I bet she’s done something like that.” Priya said, giving Alecto a grin.

“Yeah… it was me. I...I’d do anything for my friends.” Her voice was so shaky it was barely audible. _Your stutter is back full strength, then. It always appears when you’re anxious._

“Rocco’s coming over.” Hope said.

Rocco struts up and down the line.

“The girl who I think would drop everything for her mates...is someone who is passionate, fiery, and always true to what she wants. I think it’s...Marisol!” Rocco walks up to Marisol and kisses her. She leans in and kisses him back, hard. There’s a sudden hush, and all Alecto can hear is the sounds of their lips and her own racing heart. Marisol’s hands slide over Rocco’s chest. Nobody knows what to say. Alecto grits her teeth and does her best to brush it off. _You can break down later, in private. Don’t cause a scene._

“T...that’s fine. R...Rocco’s got the wrong answer, but it’s fine.” Alecto’s voice is barely audible, and she removes her glasses. She doesn’t want to see this display in front of her.

“Babes, it’s not fine at all. These two are using the challenge to get off with each other...and you’re here just watching!” Lottie snapped, turning her green glare on to her. Alecto feels herself take in an intake of breath, fighting hard to keep her composure.

“Um...guys? Emotions are running pretty high here, but there’s still a whole lot of these cards left. The girls are winning. We need to step up our game. Shall we carry on?” Bobby jumps in.

“Y...yeah, let’s do it.” Alecto said shakily, handing her glasses to Hope. She had a sinking feeling she would end up breaking down in Lucas’ arms, as she no longer cared about the game so wanted to kiss him and tear tracks on glasses were so difficult to clean.

“Yes, Alecto. I love this game!” _Well, he hasn’t been centre of the drama, like you._ Bobby grabs a card, then runs over and hands it to her.

“I checked to make sure this last one was nice and spicy.” Bobby whispered.

“OK, I’m looking for the boy who has…” she turns over the card and reads it aloud.

“Been caught out naked in public.’”

There’s silence, and then Lottie bursts out laughing.

“Wait, what?” Lottie asked.

“That’s what it says.” She said softly.

“I guess we should get deciding then. Because I really want to know the answer to this one.” Lottie said.

The girls gather around Alecto. For a second, all the tension is gone.

“Who do we think it is, then?” Hope asked.

“L...Lucas.” Alecto tripped over her words again.

“Really? Do you think so?” Priya looked sceptical.

“I suppose it could be any of these guys really. I don’t think I’ll ever understand what lads get up to on a night out.” Lottie said.

“Yeah, go for it Alecto. After what we’ve just seen, I don’t think much is going to surprise me anymore.” Hope said.

Alecto waits for the boys to finish discussing, then walks straight over to Lucas. She grabs Lucas and slides her hands up his back. She feels tears start to spill down her cheeks and he wraps his arms around her waist and tips her backwards slightly, lowering her into the kiss. Their tongues find each other and she tastes her own tears, feeling herself release a cascade of emotions which had been building. She sobs, feeling it muffled by the kiss. She closes her eyes and enjoys the feeling of him taking her weight before he pulls her back up. Once the kiss is broken, he looks down at her and notices the tears and he strokes her back, pulling her gently close to him so the others wouldn’t see. She feels herself let go entirely and sobs into his shoulder, shaking considerably.

“Sorry Alecto, but you were wrong. The answer is me.” Henrik said.

“Story, please.” Lottie gave him an interested look, raising one eyebrow.

She is unable to hear the story being told close to her, her ears feel muffled and she’s lost in her thoughts. 

“Looks like we’re out of cards, and the girls win!” Hope said. _You definitely don’t feel like you’ve won now. Nothing really could make this situation better._

She fades away again, leaning against Lucas. She notices Hope approaching with her glasses, and vaguely remembers taking them from her. She’s about to follow Hope when Lucas gently pulls her back and she turns to face him. Everything and everyone vanishes from her surroundings, all she notices is Lucas and his comforting smell. She feels the spark ignite within her and lets out a hiss of pain as he picks up her hand.

“This looks sore. What did you do to it?” He asks, sounding concerned.

“When I’m anxious, I pick at my skin usually until it bleeds. This time was a response to earlier.” She explained, voice muffled by tears. _Wow. You told him the full truth, not the lie you told Marisol when you first injured your hand._

He nodded, gently stroking her hair and they fell into a comfortable silence. 


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: this chapter contains skin picking and discussion of skin picking. So just giving a quick heads up in terms of trigger warnings.

Hope runs over to hug Alecto as she walks into the room.

“Alecto! I’m so glad you’re here. I was so worried about us all after everything that happened this afternoon.” Hope looked at her with concern. Alecto was aware she looked like a slight mess currently.

“I’m so upset about it. Seeing those two kissing was just…” Alecto trails off, biting her lip. _You’re more mad at Rocco than Marisol. It would have helped if she’d given you the heads up, but that was apparently just too hard._

“It’s so weird to me that we can all be having fun, and not notice what’s going on right under our noses.” Hope said. _Wait. Does she know something about it? Or did she notice how off both Rocco and Marisol were recently?_

“What do you mean?” Alecto pushed her glasses up her nose.

“Well...Priya and I were just talking…” Hope trailed off, looking uneasy.

“I don’t know how you’re going to take this, but…” Priya started off.

“I think this thing with Rocco and Marisol is bigger than just today.” Hope continued. _What do they know, then?_

“What do you mean?” Alecto asked again, giving both of them a sceptical look. _They were taking too long with this news, so it must be something that might upset you._

“It was weird when him and Marisol kissed twice in the challenge today, right?” Priya said. _Well, yes. But you have noticed something wrong with both of them for a few days now._

“It’s like it came out of nowhere.” She said softly. 

“That’s just what we said! It was like they both knew what to do without even thinking.” Priya said.

“So we wanted to know...when did those two get so close?” Hope said.

“And then we both said the same thing at the same time.” Priya said. _Uh oh. Rocco must’ve given up on you much before you thought then and decided to lead you on while playing the field. Not that you like him, you don’t. It just hurts to get messed with._

“What did you both say?” Alecto asked. She had a bad feeling about this. 

“Well…”

“Did you ever see Rocco trying it on with the other girls in here?” Priya asked.

“The girls...would have told me.” She was uncertain about her comment, feeling herself trail off in the middle of it and have to get herself on track again. _You’ve lost trust in a lot of people now. You just keep opening yourself up to get hurt again and again. Maybe Étienne was right when he said you would never find someone again who loves you and trusts you, maybe you’re destined to be alone._

“If we all knew about it, sure.” Hope said.

“I didn’t think much about it until today, but he came to chat to me as soon as the new boys arrived.” Priya said. 

“What was he saying?” She asked. _Just like you thought. Bad omens have been surrounding him for a while now, trust you to actually decide to ignore them._

“Just about how he wanted to recouple and stuff. Not like he was really trying it on. More like, if things went that way and we were both single. But I think that’s because I said I was happy with Ibrahim for now.” Priya said.

“He said the same thing to me when he thought nobody was listening. I said I wasn’t interested, but I bet he would have pushed it further if he thought there was a chance between us. We think he must have started chatting to all the girls after Lucas and Henrik came in. I’m so sorry, Alecto. We might be wrong, though. What do you think?” Hope put a gentle arm around her shoulders. _This isn’t your fault. Even if you hadn’t shown interest in Lucas, his jealousy would have got the better of him, anyway. What about Marisol? He used her because she was the only one kind enough to trust him. You think she actually likes him too, but he’s using her._

“It all adds up.” She said softly.

“It’s so funny how you don’t see how it all fits together until afterwards.” Hope said. _Maybe for you two. You’ve had this feeling in the back of your head for a while._

“I just don’t get why he would do this. We all came in here to find love, and it seems like he’s just been playing a game.” Priya said, looking miffed.

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. How are you feeling?” Hope asked, watching her with a concerned gaze and patting her shoulder gently.

“I’m hurt. If this was true, it means he was lying to me the whole time.” Her words were slightly spiky in tone without yelling.

“Maybe we should take a step back for a second. We’re giving Alecto a lot to deal with all at once. And none of us have talked to Marisol about this yet. If she’s gone behind everyone’s backs, that’s really snakey. But she probably doesn’t know Rocco’s been chatting to all the girls either.” Hope said. _It’s definitely a lot all at once. But all your suspicions have been proven right._

“You’re right. All we know is what we’ve said so far. What do you think we should do?” Priya asked, moving closer to Alecto and putting an arm around her.

“I want to talk to Marisol. She should know the truth.” Alecto said softly. _You don’t want to lose her, despite what she did. If you actually liked Rocco, it would have been slightly different, but knowing what you now know, you’re more mad at Rocco._

“You two should definitely have a chat. And then come and talk to us again afterwards. We’re supposed to have cocktails with the girls tonight because we won the challenge. I think that will be a really good time to catch up and see what’s going on.” Hope said, moving away from her.

Alecto turns to leave, and Priya calls out.

“Alecto! Make sure you’re bringing it when you go out there. It’s all gone a bit topsy-turvy in the villa and we want to turn the boys heads the right way tonight.” Priya said. _You’re not up to dressing up currently._

Alecto changed into a black dress, setting her hair free from her braid. She grabbed her bracelet from the dressing table and left the dressing room.

Marisol is lying on the daybeds, staring at her phone. She looks smaller than usual, smaller even than Alecto herself. She sighs as Alecto walks over.

“Waiting for a text?” Alecto studied her, stopping just by the daybed.

“Something like that. I keep hoping he’ll message me asking for a chat.” Marisol looked up from her phone, meeting Alecto’s eyes. She moved over slightly, tapping the daybed to try and invite her to sit down. 

“Do you want to talk about you and Rocco?” Alecto asked, taking a seat next to her.

“It’s not like that. There isn’t a ‘me and Rocco’ at the moment. We’re just two people that kissed today.” Marisol said. Her voice was unexpectedly softer than usual, she looked as uneasy as she had only a day ago. It was difficult for Alecto to stop herself from putting a gentle arm around Marisol, despite the kiss and how hurt that made her feel.

“That makes it easier for me.” She said, trying for a smile. It was difficult, she felt a leftover tear roll down her cheek. She knew that not wearing makeup tonight was a good idea, once her tears had first been unleashed it was always difficult to stop them entirely. _You usually bottle up your emotions so heavily that when you release, it’s difficult to bring them back under your control._

Marisol relaxes slightly, sliding an arm around Alecto’s shoulders and smiles at her. She reached up and wiped the tear from her cheek. Alecto felt herself freeze but at the same time, leans into Marisol’s arm. _What are you doing? You’re supposed to be mad at her, but at the same time it gives you a clear shot at pursuing something with Lucas. And the spark is still there. You don’t want to lose her, so you’re willing to forgive if she apologises._

“Thanks for saying that. I wasn’t expecting any sympathy from the girls to be honest. Not if Lottie had her way, anyway.” Marisol sighed, sadness reappearing in her eyes again. _You do hate to see her upset, even though she was part of the mess earlier._

“So, what happened?” Alecto asked, watching Marisol carefully. To her surprise, she hadn’t moved away from her at all.

“I honestly hadn’t thought about Rocco until the other day. I think it was the day Henrik and Lucas came in...he just pulled me aside and we started talking. When I said I wasn’t that into Gary at the moment, it was like something clicked between us. We didn’t do anything else then, but when I had the chance to kiss him in the challenge today… I had to do it, just to see if what we had was real. I think he’d been holding back until he knew that he wouldn’t be stepping on anyone’s toes. He’s really respectful…” Marisol trailed off slightly, lost in her thoughts. _Respectful, your left arse cheek! There’s no way in hell what he did was respectful. To you, or Gary for that matter._

Alecto felt a harsh laugh bubble up in her throat and she set it free, making Marisol jump. To her surprise, her eyes were icy cold with anger.

“Until he ‘wouldn’t be stepping on anyone’s toes’? Really? Did he completely forget about me? Giving me a heads up he was looking elsewhere was the least he could do! I’m aware that we’re not compatible in the slightest, but the fact he turned and ran away entirely from the situation rather than addressing it doesn’t sit well with me. That was hardly ‘respectful’! I gave him the heads up that I was looking elsewhere, yet he didn’t have the common courtesy to do the same, and I was even wary about approaching it with him as I didn’t want to upset him! But of course, I guess my feelings don’t matter in the slightest! He’s exactly the same as Étienne... I …. had bad vibes about him from the start. I don’t like him in the slightest now, but...some common courtesy appears to be nonexistent these days. The funny thing is if he told me that he wanted to explore his options or you actually said you might actually like him or something, I would have been fine with it! It’s the fact you went entirely behind everyone’s backs that is difficult to handle. I even saw possible signs, yet I ignored them! I’m... so stupid...sometimes.” She released all of her built up anger, feeling her voice go icy. She never yelled, she defaulted to turning her voice as cold as possible. She felt Marisol flinch, and noticed her blink in surprise, her mouth opening and shutting as she tried to work through her surprise. That was so common when Alecto blew up at people, she was so quiet and softly spoken that it did regularly make people jump. Her voice turned shaky towards the end, and she felt hot tears start to make their way down her cheeks. She removed her glasses, setting them somewhere safe and feeling herself shake slightly. 

“You’re...right. I’m sorry for not giving you the heads up first, before I did try something with him. That was wrong of both of us. You’re not stupid, don’t say that about yourself. You care a lot about people, even me after what I just did. I was uncertain about doing it, believe it or not, as I didn’t want to hurt you. He told me you were obviously looking elsewhere, so you wouldn’t care and I wouldn’t be stepping on your toes. But I should’ve approached you first. You’re the person I’m closest to in here, I hope you feel the same. I don’t want to lose you over this, but I understand if you do prefer to get closer to the others after what I did. I always thought you were closer to Lottie than me anyway.” Marisol sighed slightly, sliding a gentle arm around her shoulders and rubbing her back. The contact sent Alecto’s brain into overdrive, having her this close was doing things to her that she had only experienced once, with Sophie. She felt her left palm buzz slightly, in the spot the opened cut was situated. She uncurled her hand, watching the spark in the middle of her injury. _You can’t turn off these feelings, that’s for sure. You don’t fully know what they even are yet._

She felt Marisol take her hand gently and look at it, palm up.

“That’s the second time this has happened. You can’t be so accident prone to injure yourself in the exact same spot twice, so I’m thinking there’s something more behind this. You don’t have to tell me anything if you don’t feel comfortable, but I’m definitely a bit concerned about you.” Marisol said, she watched Alecto carefully with concern in her eyes. _Her and Lucas are the only people who keep noticing it. Not only that, they care enough to ask you first. That can’t be a coincidence, Sophie would do the exact same thing._

Alecto nodded, trying to get her words together. 

“I’m accident prone, yes. But that’s not the reason for this, you’re right there. I’ve had people judge me for picking my skin when I’m feeling anxious, people get creeped out by the blood and the fact I have to injure myself to feel grounded again. I use it as a form of relief, usually when it bleeds I stop as the pain helps ground me and prevents me from disappearing entirely. If the situation is overwhelming me, usually if there’s something loud or an argument or something is out of my control, that causes an anxious spiral. That scares me and I want to release myself from it. Sometimes fiddling with my hair or my bracelet isn’t enough as that doesn’t act as quickly to tackle the anxiety. So I have to use pain to ground myself as it’s more fast acting. It doesn’t always stop the anxiety itself either, sometimes it reaches a certain point and I just snap. That happened today. I’ve had people leave me because of this, I’m aware how unhealthy the coping mechanism is, but until I get a better one, I’m stuck with this one.” Her voice stayed level to her surprise, and she looked up at Marisol, bracing herself for the bad reaction she was expecting. _It would hurt, a lot to lose her. Hopefully you’re wrong and she stays._

She felt Marisol squeeze her other hand, and she was freed from her thoughts.

“I’m not going to leave you or judge you for it. It’s unhealthy, yes, but you know that so I don’t see the point in reiterating that fact. I understand why it happens now, and I’m sorry my actions caused an anxious spiral. I didn’t want to hurt you, but I did so there’s no point in making excuses for that.” Marisol’s voice was calming, causing Alecto to be able to take a breath and work towards stability again. _You need to tell her what Hope and Priya said. But be gentle with it._

“Hun, I don’t know how to tell you this. Rocco hasn’t just been talking to you. He’s been talking to all the girls. I think you were the only one who was sweet enough to trust him, though. A...apart from me, of course. Also I accept your apology.” Alecto’s voice shook slightly, and she felt more tears roll down her cheeks. 

“Hun, I’m so sorry.” Marisol stops talking and shakes her head. “I feel so silly, all of a sudden. I like to think I’m good at reading people, but maybe I’ve got this all wrong. Obviously I’ve made some mistakes here, but do you at least see why I acted the way I did?” She looked down at the daybed, appearing vulnerable. _You technically did the same, with Lucas. The only difference was that you haven’t hurt as many people to do that._

“I would have done the same.” Alecto said, linking hands with her.

“You would?” Marisol’s eyebrows raised slightly in shock, she looked Alecto directly in the eyes. Undertones of sadness were still present in her eyes, she noticed tear tracks on her cheeks.

“Yeah. So I totally get it.” She explained, hoping that could provide a source of comfort.

“That means a lot. I was starting to feel like I was all alone in this. And I wouldn’t have expected you to be the one to take my side.” Marisol’s face lit up in a grin for a moment until she went back to looking confused again. _She does have a point. If you actually liked Rocco, things would be different, maybe. As you don’t like him that way though it means you can see both sides and am not blinded by the similarities to the Étienne and Andromeda situation. It’s completely different, anyway: Marisol and Andromeda are nothing alike, Rocco didn’t choose you to get to Marisol either, he had no idea until Lucas and Henrik appeared. Which is something. You’re still mad at Rocco though._

There’s a moment of silence as the two of them gather their thoughts.

“So, what now? Are we, like, rivals?” Marisol asked, looking uneasy.

“I don’t care about Rocco anymore. He’s played me. I’m done. If you want to see if things work out with him, I guess you can. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Alecto reached out, taking Marisol’s hand in hers and wiping the tears from her face.

“I need some time to think about this…” Marisol said, looking uncertain. _She’s usually so sure of everything. It’s odd that she’s off._

“All the girls are going to meet on the roof terrace in a bit. I think we should talk about it as a group then.” Alecto said, patting Marisol’s hand in an attempt to comfort her and letting go, retrieving her glasses and walking in the direction of the bathroom to splash water on her face. If she had turned back, she would have noticed Marisol watching her go until she snapped out of it. _That was actually easier than you expected._

Lottie is sitting by herself, staring into the black night sky.

“Hanging out by yourself again?” Alecto asked, trying for a joke but feeling it fall flat.

“I’m not alone if you’re here to talk to me. I was just checking out some constellations, trying to think about what the future might hold for all of us.” Lottie said, giving her a slight smile. _Hmm. You could use a distraction, even though your future is likely shitty._

“What’s my future?” She asked, grabbing a bean bag and pulling it next to Lottie, and dropping gently into it.

“It doesn’t look promising, I’ll be honest. But we don’t need the stars to tell us that. I just can’t believe what happened today. You think you get to know someone, and then they can do something that just flips it all on its head.” Lottie said, waving it away and changing the subject. _Yep, you’re aware of that, thanks. It could get better, but you don’t feel hopeful now. It didn’t even happen to her, either, unless she’s still hung up on him._

“You mean Rocco?” Alecto checked.

“Who else? Rocco kissing Marisol like that today was just...I kinda saw it coming, to be honest.” Lottie said. _She knew, or spotted the signs. Of course she did. Giving you a heads up was slightly too much, then._

“Thanks for telling me.” Her voice was dusted with ice crystals and ice cold, and she felt tears start to appear again in her eyes. She removed her glasses again, ready for her next lot of tears. Through tears, she noticed Lottie flinch slightly and nearly go to comfort her, but moved her hand back. _It’s still weird, between you two, then._

“It’s so hard though, isn’t it. What was I supposed to do? Just talk to the girls like… ‘anyone else anxious Rocco might be a player?’ The first couple of chats I had with Rocco I realised he wasn’t someone who liked being tied down. And then when he came to chat to me after you two had coupled up…” Lottie trailed off. _Talking to you would have been a start! You’re one of the people who was fucked over by all of this._

“You knew he was doing that?!” Alecto looked directly at Lottie, fixing her with a hard glare. Her voice had progressively become more icy, and to her surprise she wasn’t shaking in the slightest. All she allowed herself to become was angry.

“I guess I just didn’t think too much about it. It was nothing really. Just him asking who I was going to couple up with. Us girls have all had our heads turned a bit, recently. Even Hope. So it’s not surprising we’d miss something if we were looking the other way.” Lottie broke eye contact, looking down at her feet. _Yeah, that’s true. She did make a thing of being your closest friend here, but you don’t know if that’s real now. Your true friends are likely Hope and Marisol, which is surprising considering what she did, but not really._

_She was probably looking for a Hannah replacement, and you just fit that description well. People can’t really like you when you don’t even like yourself. You’re just a ghost, who can be moulded into the perfect person that people want from you, but don’t have a true personality. People do get bored of having a mould, and that’s all you are._

“I guess that’s fair.” Alecto sighed softly, her voice beginning to waver. She dipped her head slightly, hiding behind her hair.

“You can see why I wasn’t too bothered, then. I’ve probably been going a bit too hard on being loyal in here. If you think being loyal is going to get you anywhere, this is a good reminder that’s not necessarily true. I’m sorry you’ve had to learn that the hard way. Maybe you should go out there and get what you want, from now on.”Lottie moved slightly, sliding an arm around Alecto and pulling her towards her. She nestled into Lottie, letting tears fall and crying into Lottie’s shoulder. She smelled different to what she was used to, and she noticed the small spark ignite again.

“That...that’s not what you really think.” She stuttered, tripping over her words in a rush to release them.

“Maybe not. I’m just a bit sick of people acting one way and then finding out it’s not true. Anyway, you don’t need to spend all evening chatting to me. You’ve got more important things to focus on.” Lottie said, stroking her hair and helping Alecto sit up.

“All the girls are going to meet on the roof terrace in a bit.” Alecto said, forcing fake confidence and grabbing her glasses, putting them on.

“Perfect, I’ll see you there. I think we’ve got plenty to sort out. I think I want to have some words with Marisol. I’ll try and keep it civil, Hope did warn me that you struggle with arguments and told me off for the way I handled earlier. I had no idea, but that’s no excuse. I should definitely have paid more attention to you. I’ll definitely back you if you want to.” Lottie said, giving her a gentle smile.

Alecto is just leaving when she hears a voice calling out from somewhere in the Villa.

“Guys! I got a text!” Noah called out. _Ow, he’s definitely loud in his own right. That’s probably about the drinks. No need to freshen up again, there’s a chance tears might occur again._

Hope is pouring drinks for everyone when Alecto walks onto the terrace. She glides over and hands her a glass filled with ice, fruit and a purple liquid.

“Cocktails with the girls! So this is...nice. I’m so glad we could all spend time together, just girls. What a lovely evening.” Hope scrambled for words, sounding very positive and peppy at the same time. _Does she struggle a bit with silence?_

“It... _is_ nice.” Alecto’s voice was wavering slightly, but she poked herself hard in the arm and pulled herself back together again.

“I’m glad you agree, Alecto.” Hope reached out and put an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close and grinning at her, appreciating her efforts to try and keep things light.

“I think Hope’s right. Obviously we need to clear the air a bit…” Priya said. _Oh no. She put her foot in it, Lottie will definitely snap soon._

“A bit?” Lottie’s words had a clear spike to them, and Alecto flinched. Hope stroked her hair soothingly, trying to help her remain calm.

“Do you have something to say to me, Lottie?” Marisol snapped back, matching Lottie’s tone. Alecto felt herself shake again, and Hope repeated her action to try and soothe her. Priya moved towards her and linked hands gently, trying to show support that way. _You’re not going to fall apart just yet. You actually have a support system, it seems. Both Priya and Hope have taken you under their wings for a bit._

“Ladies, can we just take it easy for a second? I know we’re all thinking about what happened this afternoon in the challenge.” Hope broke in, trying to smooth the situation over.

“When Marisol kissed Rocco, you mean?” Lottie’s words were harsh and caused Alecto to shake again. She felt tears start to spill down her cheeks again, and removed her glasses. To her surprise, she noticed how Marisol looked slightly guilty, likely aware how she played a part in Alecto’s tears.

“I think a few of us maybe weren’t playing by the girl code. But it was a challenge! They’re supposed to be fun.” Hope said, squeezing Alecto’s hand in comfort.

“It has obviously brought up some issues though. Alecto is involved in all of this. I think we should give her a chance to speak first.” Priya said, making eye contact with her.

All the girls turn to Alecto.

“What do you think we should do, Alecto?” Priya asked, her voice gentle so it wouldn’t startle Alecto again.

She opened her mouth once and then twice, trying to find her words and speak past the growing lump in her throat.

“W...we should... talk about Rocco. To...get this sorted.” Her voice kept shaking and it was barely audible. She focused on the floor, staring at her feet, as maintaining eye contact was too difficult a task.

“I agree. I’m a bit worried he’s not who we think he is.” Hope said.

Marisol clears her throat, and Alecto found herself looking up at her.

“It seems like a lot of you are disappointed in the way I acted today. But like Hope says, it was just a challenge…” Marisol trailed off. To Alecto’s surprise, she looked sad, and she had to stop herself from reaching out a hand of comfort.

“Hun, this isn’t just about the kiss.” Hope kept her voice level.

“It feels as though the kiss was part of something bigger.” Priya said.

“You’ve been talking in secret for a while, right?” Hope asked.

“I thought we had something special. Even if it turns out that isn’t true.” Marisol said, looking downcast and moving closer to Alecto, gently linking hands with her. She felt a spark or her heart beating in her palm and it was difficult to not try and get Marisol to release her hand so she could examine it.

“Even Alecto has figured it out now. As much as I don’t like it, I’ve got to admit that I understand. We’ve all been played by Rocco, and I think we should do something about it.” Lottie explained, her voice more gentle than previously.

“What kind of thing?” Alecto asked. _The idea definitely sounded ominous to you._

“That’s what I’m wondering, too. I’m not keen on hexing anyone.” Hope said.

“I reckon we cut him out.” Lottie said. _That’s like bullying. You’ve been an outcast before, you wouldn’t wish that on Marisol, or even Rocco. Étienne and Andromeda may have been awful to you, but you wouldn’t even do it to them. So if the people who hurt you the most can’t be dealt with in that way, you won’t do this._

“We do what?” Priya asked.

“Avoid him, give him the cold shoulder. That kind of thing. I’m done with that boy. I don’t wanna talk to him, be with him…” Lottie explained. _Somewhat childish. Your 11 year old sister wouldn’t do this, and she’s still a child._

“I’m not sure.” Alecto said, she found herself uncertain, not wanting to Lottie to leave her side, but not agreeing with her idea.

“Me neither. I’m not exactly happy with him at the moment, but I’d like to think we can all still get on.” Hope said, squeezing her hand and letting go. To Alecto’s shock, Marisol was still holding her other hand.

“I think it’s natural if we’re a little frosty with him. He’s played all of us, and it’ll take a while before we’re all good again.” Priya said. _Wait. Lottie and Priya agree? How strange. He might not last that long though._

“I’ve got no intention of not talking to Rocco. I know he hasn’t exactly shown his best side recently...but maybe he’s not the only one. Lottie, you in particular have completely ignored what your own ‘best friend’ is comfortable with to argue back at me, constantly. Despite the clear fact that she isn’t comfortable with the arguing or people being loud. I would understand if she was angry with me, more than the rest of you. Yet she keeps supporting me despite what I did to her. I appreciate Alecto and she’s become the only person I trust. Also I genuinely do like this guy, and I’m sorry if that’s a problem for you.” Marisol gently squeezed her hand before letting go, and standing up to walk out. She made eye contact with Alecto before she left, and the mess of emotions surprised her. The clear sadness, mixed with love, mixed with something that was difficult to tell. _All of what she said is true. And she stood up for you, same as Hope. You’re right to trust her, you think and hope._

There’s silence for a while. Lottie sits with her mouth open, stunned into silence by Marisol’s words. 

“So...good meeting, guys.” Lottie finally got out, still stunned.

“It could have gone worse, to be fair.” Hope sadly pours the last few drops of melted ice out of the cocktail jug.

“At least the drinks were nice.” Hope said.

The others stand up and head inside, leaving Alecto on the roof terrace by herself. She took a seat, placing a hand to her head. She had an awful headache and just needed time to herself. She laid flat on her back and looked up at the sky, studying the stars and constellations above. She felt cloudy headed, having to work to keep her eyes open, and flickering shut every now and again. The cool night air helped to settle her head, and her racing heart. Her eyes flicked open again when she heard footsteps and looked up to see Lucas.

“You’ve been up here for a while so I wanted to check on you. I know today has been difficult but tomorrow will hopefully get better. I was wondering if you wanted to spend time on a daybed tonight, so you don’t have to sleep in the same room as Marisol and Rocco. I’ll keep you company if you like.” Lucas said.

Alecto sat up slowly, yawning loudly and retrieving her glasses from where she’d put them for safe keeping, and putting them on.

“Thank you for thinking of me. I’ll be fine in the main bedroom. I’m not a fragile flower, I won’t break that easily. I’m stronger than I look.” She got to her feet, wobbling slightly and feeling Lucas gently catch her by the arm. _That was definitely kind of him._

“It might help for me to help you downstairs. At least until you’ve taken those heels off.” Lucas said.

She nodded, allowing him to help her to the dressing room, where he left her. She removed her heels and got changed into her pajamas. She hesitated before entering the bedroom, but forced herself to move, scanning the room as she entered. To her relief, both Marisol and Rocco weren’t in there, and she made her way to her bed, removing her glasses and setting them on the bedside table. She slid into bed, and was able to fall asleep when her head hit the pillow. 


	19. Chapter 19

Alecto looks over to the other side of her bed, it’s empty. She was relieved to still have the bed to herself, it appeared Rocco was somewhere else. _Probably grafting on everything with a pulse._

Marisol paces around the bedroom, running her fingers through her hair, frowning. She catches Alecto’s eye and quickly looks away. It was difficult for Alecto to stay put, she ached to comfort Marisol somehow. _Is she off with you? Likely not, it’s just still awkward between you currently._

“Has anyone seen Rocco?” Marisol asked, struggling to stay still. The constant pacing was getting to Alecto, she wanted her to just stop.

Lottie sits bolt upright. Bobby stirs in the bed.

“He’s probably shedding his skin.” Lottie spat out, glaring at Marisol. _Uh oh. She better not be picking a fight on your behalf, again._

“I don’t know what you’re getting so worked up about.” Marisol perches on the edge of her bed, stretching her toned arms as she yawns. “He’s not even your man.” Marisol’s eyes flashed with anger, matching Lottie’s pointed tone. Alecto flinched, clenching her fist and feeling a little burst of pain from her open injury. She uncurled her hand, examining it carefully and trying to avoid doing it more harm.

“He’s not yours either, in case you’ve forgotten.” Lottie snapped back, her eyes darting in Alecto’s direction for a brief moment, before she turned the full weight of her green glare on Marisol. _Nice of her to realise that, hey, you exist! You thought she was going to stop lashing out at people and causing arguments, guess that was an empty promise._

Gary rolls onto his side, pulling the duvet over his head.

“Alecto is my girl, hun. I look out for my girls when there are snakes in the grass.” Lottie replied, reverting to her usual tone.

Marisol storms out of the bedroom, sending both Lottie and Alecto fierce glares. Alecto blinked, flinching slightly, her nails digging into her palm. _Did she really think you’d actually stand up to Lottie on her behalf? You wouldn’t do that anyway, never mind now. Or did she want some comfort of some sort, like your hand in hers? She appears to have already started to rely on you for that. Despite what she did, and all._

“Is she gone?” Gary emerged from the duvet.

“Coast is clear.” Alecto sighed, her voice barely audible. She curled herself into a ball, resting her chin on her knees.

“Well, that was pretty intense...Think I need a cuppa.” Gary said. 

“Oh Gary, you wouldn’t make us a cup of tea, would you? I need to read my leaves to see what my lovesick future holds…” Lottie asked, giving him a smirk.

“Alright, your highness. Alecto, you want anything?” Gary’s eyes flicked over to her, a flash of concern clear.

“T...tea,please.” She stuttered, focusing her eyes on the duvet in front of her.

“Nice.” Gary grinned. 

“Guuuys!” Priya comes running in, her voice loud and high pitched, grating slightly on Alecto’s ears. She rubbed one of her ears and put her hand back again.

“What the…”Lottie gave Priya a surprised look.

Noah and Hope suddenly sit up in bed. The other Islanders run into the bedroom.

“Priya, babe, are you alright?” Ibrahim asked.

“I got a text!” Priya called out in delight. Everyone stares at her, expectantly.

“Well...that’s a relief. I heard you yell and thought something awful was happening. I’m glad no one’s hurt.” Hope said.

“Just my ears…” Noah winced.

“You’ll see why I screamed when you hear what it says. Girls, later today you will decide which boy is the most dateable. Guys, smooth out those manners and straighten out those lines. It’s date or break time.” Priya read.

“That is savage.” Lucas said.

“I’m so going to screw this up.”Ibrahim looked downcast.

“Looks like the power is in our hands today, girls.” Lottie grinned, looking delighted at the turn of events.

The boys groan. Everyone looks at Rocco. He opens his mouth like he’s about to speak, but no sound comes out.

“What are you guys waiting for? Go get ready!” Priya encouraged.

The boys rush off to the changing room, and most of the girls file out of the bedroom, apart from Hope and Alecto. Hope makes her way over to Alecto, putting her arm around her shoulders and sitting next to her.

“Are you alright? That must have been hard to listen to for you, the argument I mean.” Concern was clear in Hope’s voice. Alecto expected herself to move away from Hope at the unexpected touch, but moved closer to her. _You’re like a skittish cat, you have to be approached slowly and quietly or you will be scared off. Hope appears to have got that sussed though, you’re not exactly moving away._

“I know she’s trying to be a good friend, but I’d prefer for her to not pick fights with Marisol in my presence. I hate the arguing, so much. I can’t be close with someone who constantly does this. As for Marisol, it’s hurting me to be distant from her. Why did it have to be her of all people? And why does it hurt so much? I don’t even have feelings for Rocco, but it’s more her betrayal and stabbing me in the back. But at the same time, I don’t want to lose her over this. If Lottie dislikes it, well, tough! She’ll have to deal with it. Also Marisol glared at me, was she disappointed that I didn’t stick up for her against Lottie or that I didn’t try to help her? As either way, I can’t be sorting other people’s shit all the time. I have feelings and a right to be upset, even if I don’t blow up at people to express that.” She sighed, fiddling with a loose strand of hair.

“I’ve talked to Lottie twice now about picking fights. Even Marisol called her out for it yesterday, which does say something to me. You’re allowed to let yourself be upset, but don’t let it take you over. Be careful. You’re right in that you shouldn’t have to be constantly putting out fires all the time. You deserve a break too. If the arguing bothers you so much, then you might have already made your decision. You want to be close to Marisol again, despite the situation. It’s possible for your friendship to survive this, if you want it to. As for earlier, she shouldn’t be angry at you for not sticking up for her or comforting her. She’s the reason you’re hurting now, but you still care about her. That tells me something. I hope that’s helped, at least a little bit.” Hope fiddled with Alecto’s hair, starting to braid it. She kept her voice gentle and slow, which helped Alecto pay attention to her.

“Thank you, for caring, it means a lot. That’s solved some questions in my head for sure. We probably should get ready, seize the day and all.” Alecto uncurled herself and got ready to stand up, Hope following suit and handing her the glasses on her bedside table.

They left to go into the dressing room. Unknowingly to both of them, Marisol was in the bathroom all along and had heard the entire conversation. Marisol leaned against the wall, trying to collect herself. She wanted to sort this with Alecto, desperately. She didn’t expect to care for someone so much so quickly. 

_Was kissing Rocco really the best idea? Especially because of her, of Alecto. She’s the only one of the girls who you like and get on well with, you technically count Hope and Priya too, but they’re more acquaintances to you. If Rocco and Lottie were still coupled up, you wouldn’t have even hesitated with kissing him. Why didn’t you ask him whether he still cared about her or whether he’d actually told her the truth? You believed him when he said that she knew about it, which was pretty stupid of you. Do you really care about him, or are you just tired of failed couples? Two couples of yours have now fallen apart, the same has happened to Alecto though. But she’s not in danger._

Her thoughts started to spiral, she struggled to press the off switch on her brain.

_Both Lucas and Henrik invited her on dates, not to mention the fact there might be something between her and Lucas. She’s different around him, like the way she is when she’s with you. You’re probably the only one apart from Lucas himself who has noticed though. The second kiss she had with him, that did hurt. But you don’t really have a right to be upset or jealous after what you did. You kissed Rocco twice yourself, and didn’t hold back either time or concern yourself with her feelings. She was careful in the way she kissed Gary and Lucas the first time, not wanting to step on anyone’s toes. She cares about people, and what did you do in return? Repaid her kindness and her caring nature by kissing Rocco when it wasn’t him. It was actually Bobby, you know her guess was right. That’s who you thought too. Both kisses broke her and shattered her heart, you couldn’t look at her as you knew all too well what you were doing. The way she kissed him the second time did hurt, she let down her walls entirely and kissed him the way she wanted to before. Your feelings for her confuse you, not only that but just being next to her and holding hands with her will give you a spark. You never believed in soulmates before, but what else can it be? Sparks don’t appear just because you wish them to. She’s the only one who has caused a spark, the only one causes you to lose track of your words, and the one who consumes your thoughts. But you can’t be in love with her,right? You do look at Lucas and wish she looked at you in that way, but that doesn’t mean anything?_

Marisol moved in front of the mirror, staring at herself. She ran her fingers through her hair, ruffling it up. After overhearing Alecto’s conversation with Hope, she was even more unsure of how to proceed. 

_Expecting her to automatically rush to you was wrong. Getting angry at her for that reason wasn’t your best thing to do, she has feelings too. She might not care for Rocco in that way, but he still cheated on her. At the same time, it might be because you were involved that hurt her so much. You should know by now that she’s far from the type to jump into an argument, it’s not her personality at all. Arguing and people being loud clearly upsets her, you can see that clear as day. Then why is she close to Lottie of all people? Or is she distancing herself from Lottie and getting closer to Hope? Both of them are far more alike in personality, and Lottie does hold her to standards she’s never done to anyone else, it’s wrong. She expects Alecto to be at her beck and call, and expects her to be the type to blow up at people to defend herself, which she’ll never be. She prefers to have a honest and open conversation to sort these situations out, and she was actually more terrifying when she went cold. You almost wanted her to yell, the coldness was so much more unsettling and worse to handle. You do want her back as a friend, being distant is hard on you too. You can’t lose her, you were surprised she came to comfort you and took your side. She’s a better person than you are, you’re not sure if you could’ve done that. She cares about you, still, so you do have a way to save this if you’re careful._

Her hands were in fists, her thoughts had taken her over slightly. She released the fists, surprised to find a wound in her palm. _That’s exactly what Alecto did, with her wound. You do feel a little less tense, but hurting yourself is hardly healthy. You can’t stay in here for the whole day, you need to get ready._

She heard a knock at the door and made her way to it, opening it quickly and leaving the bathroom, holding it for Alecto. Their eyes met for a moment in time, and she hurriedly looked away, her cheeks flushing. She made her way to the dressing room, the other girl’s confused chocolate eyes making an imprint on her brain. She felt consumed by the other girl, nearly getting so distracted she almost left wearing her pyjama top still. She turned back, changing properly and cleaning up her mess, spraying herself with pineapple scent and tidying her clothes back in her suitcase. 

Having the dressing room to herself was strange,she was used to struggling to find space with the others in there. And Alecto of course. The only one who didn’t tower over her and she could look in the eyes without stretching up on her tiptoes and still not getting there, like with the others. She has her own unique style too, even down to the way she styles her hair. She’s the only one who has a fringe, and it frames her face well. Her features are delicate and small, but that’s in good proportion with the rest of her. Her glasses suit her, gorgeous purple frames. 

_She doesn’t appear to be the type who would deliberately not wear her glasses when she was younger to try and gain other people’s approval, like you did. You were concerned with how having glasses and braces made you look. That strained your eyes, so you went from reading glasses to having to wear them all the time. You’re used to not having many friends and spending time trying to gain other people’s approval. But that’s the past. You should take inspiration from her, she doesn’t appear bothered by only being close to a small amount of people only. She has a quiet confidence,which unsettled you originally, and can clearly defend herself, even if her methods are different to yours. And not only that, she doesn’t allow other people’s comments on her appearance to bother her. She’s also perceptive and good at comforting others, even though she comes off as cold at first. And off you go, again, having her consume your thoughts. You must like her or something?_

Alecto settles down on a lounger and stretches out her legs.

“I think first dates are super important. If you don’t impress me in the first 3.9 seconds of the date, I’m out.” Lottie said.

“Sure, it’s all about that first impression.” Lucas said.

“I always make sure first dates aren’t too expensive. I don’t like to make anyone feel like they have to spend money on me. We don’t need to pay for good conversation. And you can’t beat a hike up a mountain.” Henrik returned. _Definitely not your type of thing. You’ve gone up two mountains in your life, but never again. All 3 of your sisters are such outdoorsy people, which you so aren’t._

“That sounds dangerous and exhausting. That’s a lot of cons for a first date, and I’ve hiked up two mountains in my life before, never again. Being accident prone with outdoorsy family is the perfect recipe for disaster.” Alecto said, fiddling with a loose lock of hair.

“Agreed. I don’t want to get all hot and sweaty when I’m trying to make a good impression.” Lottie pouted.

“Well, it’s not for everyone. You’d make any view a better one, Alecto.” She blushes at Henrik, twirling her hair and staring at the ground. _He’s trying to flirt with you again. Too bad appearance based comments don’t work at all on you, you never think they’re being truthful when they do that. How anyone could like the way you look beats you._

“Ehem. Yeah...Sure she would. I love a bit of an adventure.” Lottie went through 3 expressions very quickly. _Does she like Henrik? Or was she happy having the boys’ full attention until you turned up? Is she jealous of you? So many questions and no way to figure out the puzzle._

“My kind of adventure is trooping around the city looking for an exclusive pop-up restaurant. And, like, I’m not being funny, but...imagine sitting across the table from Alecto. What could be better?” Lucas took Alecto’s hand and she looked up at him, noticing the smoulder in his expression and she ended up blushing further, giving him a gentle smile that reached her eyes. _For some reason, it’s different when he does it. You’re able to forget yourself and your own lack of confidence and become a different person. It helps that a restaurant is more of your scene._

“Well, you know, there are lots of people in the Villa…” Lottie pouted, trying to get his attention which failed as Lucas was entirely focused on Alecto before him. _Hmm. That’s just Lottie being Lottie then, craving attention. But after the day you had yesterday, you do deserve a bit of a break, right?_

Alecto’s eyes looked over to Lottie, making eye contact and raising an eyebrow at her. She watched her reaction carefully, noticing how Lottie gave her an angry glare before looking away. _Fine. If she’s playing it that way, fine. You feel more natural around Hope and Marisol anyway._

“Good wine, good conversation, good food...and you’re all good!” He gave Alecto a wide grin, causing her to feel like the only person in the universe. It was just her and Lucas and everything else had vanished. She was able to forget Lottie and her jealousy and the ‘Roccosol’ situation for a moment in time, and escape into her daydreams of herself and Lucas together. She felt the spark vibrate in her palm and she returned his grin.

“I would love to eat out with Lucas!” She replied, feeling unexpectedly confident. Her words have no trace of the usual nervousness or anxiety, and she’s able to talk freely without fear. _You’re comfortable, in a way Sophie has always made you feel. It’s far from coincidental how you feel the same way with Lucas and Marisol that Sophie made you and still makes you, as you’re still friends, feel._

“The honour would be all mine!” Lucas gave her hand a gentle squeeze, his wide grin still present.

“Bet you only sprinkle a few diamonds at her on the first date, don’t you, Lucas?” Henrik said. _He must be joking, right? You’re not materialistic in the slightest and you can’t be won over with expensive gifts. You’ve always tried to stay true to your working class routes._

“It’s all about Moissante stone these days, Henrik. It has a higher brilliance than the diamond.” Lucas explained, appearing entirely sincere.

Henrik looks at him, amused. _Ah. He’s learning to actually make jokes then._

“It sparkles more than-I mean, no! I don’t...I don’t buy…-” Lucas looked flustered, his previous confidence gone. The insinuation that he bought diamonds had turned him awkward again. Alecto winced in sympathy.

“I’m teasing, mate.” Henrik grinned at him

“Money doesn’t buy happiness. And it certainly doesn’t buy love. Right, Alecto?” Lucas said, looking to her for reassurance. _Exactly. It wasn’t the money that made your dad’s second marriage better than his first, it was the fact he’d found someone to spend his life with. They were definitely like a modern day fairytale, more in love each day. That was part of the reason you believed in soulmates, that kind of magical love was definitely possible. You dreamed of finding your forever person, your home. In addition, Lucas was clearly uncomfortable with talking about money, maybe he didn’t want to boast about it, and had had people use him for his money before? You’d never do that to someone, you’ve always been the type who prefers to pay for things yourself and not depend on others too much if you have a choice in the matter._

“No way! Money doesn’t make someone happy, it’s finding someone who loves and accepts you for the way you are, not the gifts and bribery you can influence someone with. True love and true soulmates know no bounds.” She cut herself off before she started to put them all to sleep with talking about the soulmate theory. Lucas beams from cheek to cheek.

“I knew you’d get it. Umm...let’s change the subject.” Lucas turned to face her, giving her what appeared as a private smile and made her feel like the only person in the world. She took his hand without questioning it, giving it a tight squeeze, and feeling the spark flare in her hand.

“Good plan!” Lottie said, looking relieved. She still kept herself from looking Alecto in the eye. 

Gary walks up and slumps down on the lounger beside Lottie.

“Mornin’ all. Keeping your outfit nice and simple today, Alecto?” Gary grinned. _Huh. Judgemental much._ She tensed slightly, feeling Lucas give her hand a squeeze at an attempt to comfort her. She focused on Lucas, smiling up at him softly.

“Gary! Stop that. We’re having an important discussion about date rules.” Lottie pouted at him. Alecto kept her face blank, not reacting at Lottie’s comment, feeling herself become like a statue. _And she jumps in, again, when someone mentions you. You might be inflating things here, or there might actually be a problem._

“Oh yeah?” Gary said.

“Yeah, in preparation for when we have to judge you guys later. So, kissing and doing the dirty. What’s your rules?” Lottie asked.

“Oh, no. I do my own laundry, thanks.” Gary said. _She obviously meant sex._

Lottie looks at him, the corners of her mouth betraying a nearly concealed smile.

“Alright, one of my rules...don’t bring a girl back to your place if you can’t make her a decent breakfast.” Henrik jumped in. _That’s definitely a good one. Sophie would’ve passed that test, she’s the reason you’re less of a hopeless cook. You went from the type who would burn a poached egg to the type who could make a proper 3 course meal, which has definitely been useful for uni. Well, more the whole being able to cook and not surviving off fried food thing._

“That’s a good one.” Lottie agreed.

“That’s super sweet. I really respect that, Henrik.” Alecto said. He beams at her. His charming smile melts her heart a little.

“For me, it’s all about setting the bar with that first kiss.” Lucas chimed in. _Oh yes. Sophie was an amazing kisser, your first Sophie kiss has set a high bar for all future relationships. Lucas cleared it though, both times. Lottie was actually pretty good, but with the situation the way it is now, you’re not pursuing it further._ She felt her cheeks flushing as she dreamed about her kisses with Lucas, and had to fan herself slightly with her other hand.

Gary bites his lip. He’s smiling at her. _Oh yeah. You kissed him too, and Rocco. You forgot that, which means they weren’t too memorable._

“What do you think about first kisses, Alecto?” Lucas asked, snapping her out of her head with a start.

“The first kiss is the deal breaker. It has to be special. If I don’t feel the fireworks then, when will I ever?! First kisses are everything…”. She trailed off, feeling herself vanish back into her dreams, a dazed smile appearing on her face. Her voice began strong but gradually trailed off into a very dreamy and quiet murmur, barely above a whisper. She noticed Lottie’s brow furrow as she had to try hard to hear her.

“Yes! See, that’s why it’s so important.” Lucas said, giving her a grin. _He definitely heard you, everything you said. You’re not invisible to him._

“Kissing is only part of the dating thing.” Gary protested.

“It’s also about trying to sweep a girl off her feet.” Lucas pointed out.

“Yeah, exactly. Do you prefer a guy that takes his time or one that goes full on from the word go?” Gary asked. _That’s definitely a question that, for you, has a complex answer. Do keep it short and don’t bore them._

“Why is it up to the guy or _girl_ to impress me? It should be a mutual effort.” She said, placing deliberate emphasis on the word girl and watching Lottie shift in her seat. _Maybe it’s a little childish to play with her like that, but she’s been so odd during this conversation. She deserves something a little unexpected._

“Well said, Alecto.” Henrik looked impressed.

“Bet Rocco loves that. I prefer a guy who does the sweeping.” Lottie gave a pointed look at Alecto and Lucas’ linked hands.

“I’m not a fan of romantic tactics. I prefer things to be natural. It’s a free country. I’m not the controlling type.” Gary grinned.

“Oh yeah, that reminds me, what’s going on with you and Marisol?” Henrik asked. _The elephant in the room makes an appearance and sprays a trunk full of water over everyone!_

“I’m not going to force things.” Gary looked sad.

“Oh, really?” Lottie sat up, her interest piqued.

“Yeah, if it’s not working then that’s it.” Gary explained.

“A spark is important.” Lucas said, squeezing her hand. _He knows about the spark you two share, clearly. He can likely feel it as strong as you can._

“And a good breakfast!” Henrik grinned.

“And a cuppa tea.” Gary chipped in. _Oh yeah. You never got your tea at all. Guess he forgot, oh well. It doesn’t matter, you’re definitely forgettable._

“Speaking of tea...we never did get our drinks, Gary. Remember who has the power!” Lottie gave him a pointed stare, her lips forming a smile at her last words.

“Ah, my bad. Two teas on their way.” Gary disappeared to do the drinks.

“I can’t put my finger on him.” Lottie said. _That’s how you feel towards her, she’s certainly a perplexing paradigm._

“Trouble in paradise?” Henrik asked. _Uh oh. He better not be poking the bear._

“With Gary? No, I just can’t read him.” Lottie said, her expression blank.

“Well, you both fancy each other but you don’t know if you should make a move because of what happened with Hannah, and Alecto of course. Is that right?” Henrik looked directly at Alecto when he said her name. _Oh shit, he’s so referring to that kiss!_

“...You’re talking nonsense.” Lottie was speechless to start with, eventually pouting at him. She was avoiding eye contact with Alecto entirely.

“Really?” Henrik said. _And he pushes it again. Not a good idea!_

“Yeah. Leave it.” Lottie snapped at him, sending him a pointed glare. Alecto flinched at her spiky tone, blinking and trying to remain calm. Lucas squeezed her hand, he was as observant as she was.

There’s an awkward shift in the air. Lottie sighs heavily.

“Well, I hope we do alright in the competition later today. I’m a little worried. The rest of the boys have history.” Lucas changed the subject. _He’ll be okay, if you have anything to say on the matter, which you certainly do._

“Yeah, and having history means you’ve got an advantage.” Henrik agreed.

“Or a disadvantage in some boys’ cases…” Lottie tilts her head around to look behind Alecto. “And speaking of boys with bad baggage.” She raised her voice slightly.

Rocco comes over.

“Hey guys.” He said.

“So, let’s go to the pool, yeah?” Lottie leads everyone over towards the pool. Rocco absentmindedly follows. Alecto felt a tree of nervousness start to grow in her stomach, gaining leaves quickly. _This isn’t right. But you can’t stand up to her, no matter how hard you try._

“As I was saying, the only real thing a girl looks for in a man is trust.” Lottie continued. Alecto was lagging behind slightly, lost in her thoughts.

“Guys! Wait up!” Rocco sounded confused at them for leaving him.

“Yeah, that’s a really important quality for sure…” Henrik said.

It hurt Alecto to do it, but she turned her back on Rocco and moves closer to Lottie, Lucas and Henrik.

“You can never be too careful when you’re letting your guard down. Right, Alecto?” Lottie’s voice was pointed, she gave Alecto a hard stare. _In her eyes, there’s only one right answer._

“R...right.” She stuttered, tripping over her words.

Lottie sniffs violently and slides a few paces away from Rocco.

“Everything alright, Lottie?” Rocco asked. She glares at him.

“I take that as a no…” Rocco trailed off.

“Um...Henrik, didn’t you say you had a sprain on your leg? Want me to take a look at it...somewhere else?” Lucas asked.

“Oh, yeah. Right. I’ve got this pain on my back. I mean...leg.” Henrik said. _Bless him, he can’t lie well to save his life. They’re trying to dodge the tension, obviously._

“Where are you guys going?” Lottie sounded surprised. _Not everyone thrives on drama!_

“Oh, just away from the tension.” Lucas and Henrik slide past. They pat Rocco on the shoulder.

“Good luck, mate.” Henrik said.

“I just want to talk to you girls about the whole judging best date thing. I’ve got some super date ideas you’re going to lap up.” Rocco tried to grab for Alecto’s hand, she flinched and backed away. _Not happening. You no longer trust him. He’s setting off your skittish cat tendencies._

“Can you hear that, girls? That sound is the lesser spotted male snake. He’s in pursuit of not one, but five female mates! Alecto? Can you hear that?” She put on her best nature documentary voice. _This is bullying, and not right. You won’t stand for it._

“Guys...let’s stop ignoring him.” Alecto said, her voice wavering slightly.

“Why don’t you go and find Marisol if you’re so pro-Rocco? I get he’s your guy or whatever. But you don’t have to be loyal to someone who goes around like that.” Lottie snapped again, giving her another glare. _Fine. You will then. And hopefully have her for a friend again._

Lottie looks around, anger knotting up her brow. 

“Girls, maybe we should go elsewhere...if that’s how Alecto feels.” Lottie pouted, looking at her with disappointment. _Okay. She’s showing her true colours now._ Alecto blinked, trying to avoid crying. _It feels exactly like the Andromeda situation, it started so similar to this._

“But we just got here…” Hope protested, giving Alecto a concerned look.

“We can give them some privacy to work stuff out.” Lottie marches off towards the kitchen. Hope looks at Rocco sympathetically.

“I’m sure she’ll settle down soon, Rocco. You know how she gets. But in the meantime, you’ve got some serious chat to have with Alecto.” Hope said.

Priya gets up and encouragingly squeezes her shoulder.

“Look, I do get what it’s like to be on the wrong side of Lottie. She means well, but her loyalty is sometimes...questionable. I get why she’s angry and everything...but she’s ignoring the problem and that’s just childish. She’s taking offence on your behalf when you’re clearly uncomfortable with this and want to fix it. The fact you can keep a level head and are able to sort this out is something to admire.” Priya said.

Priya and Hope head inside, leaving Alecto and Rocco alone.

“And then there were two….thanks for hearing me out. Truth is, Alecto, you’re the one I wanted to talk to in the first place. In private. I’ve obviously done something pretty bad to get this frosty attitude. Let me make it right…” Rocco reached for her hand again and she backed away again, looking back to see Lottie. 

“Coming...Lottie…” Her words floated away.

“But…” _If you stay, you’re going to cry again._

Alecto leaves Rocco to muse on his own and heads inside to join the others.

Gary is boiling the kettle in the kitchen.

“I still can’t believe Marisol and Rocco. It’s like they have no respect for boundaries.” Lottie snapped, still clearly mad. _This is very over the top._

Alecto leans against the counter, keeping distance between her and Lottie, occasionally looking over and giving her a wary eye.

Gary comes over, drinks in hand.

“A banging cup of tea for Alecto. And of course, a cup of tea for Lottie!” Gary grinned, a strange glint in his blue eyes. Lottie’s face crumpled slightly.

“Thanks, I need this for my reading. This whole thing is exhausting.” Lottie snapped, her spiky tone still clear. Alecto jumped, blinking slightly. She wanted so desperately to say something, and had an unexpected spark of confidence.

“Excuse me. You’re finding ‘this whole thing exhausting’? Wow. It’s not even you who Rocco cheated on. If anything, resorting to petty playground games regarding the situation is making the whole thing worse. Not to mention constantly raising your voice and yelling is causing issues for me. You said you were going to stop picking fights as frequently, guess I know that was an empty promise.” Alecto glared at Lottie, her words icy cold. She wasn’t raising her voice, but the cold tone was enough to have an impact on Lottie, who stared at her, mouth wide open in shock. _Good. Hopefully she takes the hint now._ Both Bobby and Gary were also staring at her, that always happened when she lost it at someone. Her being so quiet and mild mannered usually meant that when she’d get angry that it would scare people and startle them.

“It’s all just momentary drama. You’ll have forgotten about it next week. The time passes by very quickly in here. In addition, Alecto is handling this situation better than you, considering the fact it’s her who is involved.” Bobby said, trying to placate Lottie.

“You don’t know that, Bobby. We’ll just have to see what the tea leaves say. And I’m only trying to support her, but she clearly doesn’t want my help. Rocco shouldn’t be able to walk over people and I’m the only one who appears to care. Alecto can’t let people walk over her all the time, I’m doing her a favour, even if she doesn’t see it now.” Lottie snapped back, pointedly ignoring Alecto. _Don’t rise to the bait. Not worth it._

She looked up to notice that Priya, Hope, Noah, Marisol and Ibrahim had walked into the kitchen during Lottie’s little speech. _Uh oh. There might be another situation in a minute._

Marisol looks around the kitchen, meeting Alecto’s eyes and not looking away this time. Her gaze was unexpectedly warm.

“Lottie, you pretend to be her friend while doing the opposite of what Alecto wants. I’m far from surprised that she’s got fed up with your micromanaging. She doesn’t let people walk over her actually, she’s just quieter than the rest of us and picks her battles carefully. You assume you need to protect her, but she doesn’t require it. Anyway...Kind of an atmosphere in here, huh. I’ll go sort my hair, or something.” Marisol’s expression fell slightly. _Maybe following her would be a good idea. She stuck up for you again._

“Do you want to talk it out somewhere private, Lottie?” Gary asked.

“Sure. Let’s go. I need to do my tea-leaf reading in peace without _other_ influences.” As she left she sent Alecto a pointed glare over her shoulder, to her surprise Alecto was able to hold her own, her lips curling into a smirk as Lottie vanished and broke eye contact. Gary and Lottie head back outside, slipping past the others.

Hope moved towards Alecto, putting an arm around her shoulders.

“That was the very definition of awkward.” Hope gave her a concerned look and Alecto leans slightly towards her, set in her decision. _Both Hope and Marisol keep proving to be good friends. That’s a signal there. Maybe you should give up on Lottie for a bit then, you two keep clashing and it’s pretty exhausting._

“I’m so not built for this drama.” Bobby pouted.

“Anyway, as I was saying before that happened...Ibrahim, your chair move game is so weak. I can do the chair move way better than you!” Priya changed the subject, grinning. Alecto let out a relieved sigh, releasing the breath she had been holding during the awkwardness earlier and relaxing slightly, the tension going from her shoulders.

“What’s the chair move?” Bobby asked. 

“It’s when you’re on a date with someone and they pull the chair out for you. It’s got to be smooth. Go on Rahim, show us your chair move.” Noah encouraged.

Ibrahim takes a deep breath and walks up to Priya.

“Owwwch!!” Alecto felt a sharp burst of pain as it scrapes against her foot, hard. The tears that had been building from earlier were released, and she removed her glasses to prevent tear stains, those were always a pain to clean.

“Oops!” Ibrahim looked at her with guilt.

“Argh! Noo! My toe! I think it’s broken!” She panicked at the pain, feeling Hope try to calm her by gently patting her on the back. Her tears were going free flow by this point, once they had begun it would be difficult to stop.

“What! Alecto, I’m so sorry. Lucas is a physiotherapist, we can get him to look at it!” Ibrahim panicked, looking very guilty. _You don’t want to take advantage of Lucas. Anyway, you’re a doctor yourself. And you feel so guilty for making Ibrahim worry, even though it hurts a lot and is definitely bruised at least._

“You know, it’s suddenly feeling a lot better!” She said softly, a little unsure. Hope watched her carefully, trying to see if she was being truthful.

“Woah, thank goodness. That scared the life out of me.” Ibrahim pouted.

“Ibrahim doesn’t know how to pull out a chair, apparently. But at least now we know he responds quickly and effectively to a possible emergency. That’s brownie points, for sure.” Priya tried to make him feel better. Alecto winced as her toe throbbed painfully.

Ibrahim nervously chuckles.

“Sure…” He looked a little better.

“Changing the subject, you worried about this Most Dateable contest, Bobby?” Noah asked.

“Nope. Not me. I just try and live in the moment. I don’t worry about the future until I’m stuck in it. The present moment is everything.” Bobby said. _Usually people who were obsessed with the present moment were never in the moment to begin with. In your experience anyway._

“You should...be worried.” Her voice wobbled slightly, her heart was clearly not in her statement.

“Oh, simmer down, Alecto. You’re not pinning all your seriousness on me.” Bobby teased her, not offended by her statement in the slightest.

Ibrahim picks up the chair and puts it back under the table.

“I’m totally going to blow it in this challenge later.” Ibrahim looked down.

“Don’t worry, hun. I’ll be voting for you.” Priya said.

Ibrahim smiles, but his eyes still seemed panicked.

“Well, whatever happens, I know I’ll be sticking by my Noah.” Hope kisses him on the cheek. He blushes and turns to stroke her hair. Noah and Hope gaze at each other.

“You..guys need a map or a satnav or something?” Alecto tried a joke, stuttering slightly in the process.

“What do you mean a-“ Bobby looked confused.

“You’re lost in each other’s eyes!” She delivered the punch line, trying for a fake smile but not being that successful, looking slightly demented in the process.

“Ah...right.” Bobby laughed in sympathy. _Ouch. Yup, you’re not destined to be a comedian, that’s true._

Hope and Noah don’t respond.

“Hate to break up this little moment but...I’ve got another text.” Priya said.

Hope and Noah still don’t respond.

“Excuse me. Guys! I got a text!” Priya yelled out, making Alecto jump. _Jeez. She’s so loud!_

Noah and Hope snap instantly out of their trance. Lottie and Gary come running in, followed by Rocco and Marisol. Marisol looked at Alecto with concern, noticing the tears on her face.

“What does it say, hun?” Lottie asked.

“Islanders, this afternoon the boys will be performing in a Talent Contest. The girls will choose which boy’s act impresses them the most.” Priya read out. _Hmm. Excellent distraction._

“A talent contest?!” Lucas looked a little panicked.

“We’re in the deep end now, Lucas.” Henrik said.

“This is perfect. It’s about time the guys put on a show for us.” Priya grinned.

“Ha! My kind of challenge. Smilers wear a crown and losers wear a frown.” Bobby grinned.

“But what will happen to the loser?!” Rocco looked confused.

The boys disappeared from the kitchen sharpish, leaving the girls. But not for long, as everyone apart from Marisol turned to leave. Marisol caught Alecto’s arm gently, holding her back. She turned to face her, wiping her eyes and grabbing her glasses from the kitchen counter. To her surprise, she didn’t try to pull away.

“Can I talk to you, quickly? I’m worried about you.” Marisol said, her voice gentle and soft. 

Alecto nodded, pulling out a chair and taking a seat, limping slightly and patting the chair next to her as a hint to Marisol.

“What happened to your foot, first? You’re limping. That’s not what I originally wanted to ask you but you look hurt.” Marisol asked, linking hands with her gently. _She cares, genuinely. And doesn’t have ulterior motives!_

“Ibrahim...caught my toe in a failed chair move. It hurts a lot still, I don’t think it’s broken, but there’s going to be a bruise at least.” She said, feeling her voice wobble. She focused on the counter top in front of her, resting her glasses back there.

“It’s good that it’s not broken, but it’s not good you’re in pain. Speaking of pain, I can tell the situation with me and Rocco is hurting you, which I’m sorry for. In addition, taking out my frustration from Lottie lashing out at me on you earlier by glaring at you was wrong. You don’t deserve it, and I’m sorry for that too. I miss you and being close to you. I want my friend back, and I can’t believe I messed up so badly by not thinking but that’s no excuse.” Marisol squeezed her hand, letting go momentarily and turning Alecto’s face to her, wiping her eyes and resting a hand on her cheek. Alecto felt her heartbeat stop for a moment, everything paused. All she saw was Marisol before her, and her concerned dark eyes. She felt her cheeks flush with the close contact, and almost wanted Marisol to put her hand back when she removed it. 

“Thank you for the apology. Just a question: did you overhear my conversation with Hope earlier? I don’t mind if you did, the fact you care enough to check up on me and genuinely care is enough. Also thank you for standing up for me against Lottie. You keep doing it, and thank you so much for that. I want her to stop trying to intervene. She expects me to hate you and Rocco, but I don’t. I’m far from impressed, don’t get me wrong. But I would never take my anger out on you for it. I’ve been cheated on before, by my two ex best friends deciding they deserved to date each other while one of them was dating me. Étienne was using me to get to my best friend Andromeda, and cheated on me with her. They blamed me for it, to add insult to injury. That’s why this situation hurts me so much, it feels like it’s happening again, which it kind of is. But not entirely, as I don’t like Rocco that way, and you’re nothing like Andromeda. You care so much about me and don’t want to lose me, which means more than I can describe. Being distant from you is so hard, and I definitely want you back. I want to repair this.” Her mouth was dry and she looked up at Marisol. The only other person who knew about her relationship with Étienne was Sophie. She was worried about Marisol’s reaction.

“Yes, I did hear your conversation with Hope. But I wanted to talk to you anyway. I’m sorry that the situation with Rocco brought back old memories, and you don’t deserve to be cheated on. It was far from your fault, they sound like bad people. This situation also was far from your fault, please don’t blame yourself. The fact you’re not giving up on me does mean a lot. I care about you, so I’ll keep defending you. That’s a given. The fact you’re willing to have a honest conversation with me about this instead of lashing out at me is good, and I respect that. I’ll understand if you’re more hesitant with me for a bit, and I’ll give you the time you need if you need that from me.” Marisol looked back at her, giving her a gentle smile, and not expecting Alecto to throw her arms around her, nearly tipping off her stool. She squeaked in surprise, her eyes widening as she steadied herself. She hugged Alecto back, smiling wider. She felt Alecto cry into her shoulder, releasing the rest of her tears. She stroked Alecto’s hair, making sure to not tangle her hands. She felt tears beading in her eyes, and let them go, removing her own glasses. _You’re not going to lose her! She still likes you! That’s a miracle._

They separated, looking into each other’s eyes,noticing the matching grins and teary eyes. 


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year! Here’s an unexpected double update, next week will go back to single chapters a week. You might already know this, I’ve accidentally spilled the beans to multiple people.

Alecto put her glasses back on and hopped off the stool, wobbling slightly as her feet hit the floor. Marisol climbed off her own stool, moving in Alecto’s direction to help steady her. _Ow. Your toe definitely still hurts, then._

She tried to move forward, but wobbled again and grabbed onto the counter. 

“Want to see where the others have gone off to? I might need a slight hand with this limp, I hope that’s okay. My toe still hurts, a lot.” She looked up at Marisol, giving her a slight smile. 

“That isn’t a problem, at all. I don’t mind helping you. Are you sure it’s not broken?” Marisol asked, putting an arm around her, and Alecto leaned into her. 

“Trust me, it’s not broken. If it was, I wouldn’t be able to put weight on it at all. It hurts but I can still walk on it, which is a good sign. I’ve dealt with a lot of broken limbs with both of my younger sisters. I’m somehow the walking disaster, yet I haven’t broken any limbs in my life.” Alecto moved forward, being gentle as she limped and let Marisol support her. She scanned outside for the other girls, spotting them on the loungers by the pool.

“They’re over by the pool, just spotted them.” Marisol nodded, and they fell into a comfortable silence. Alecto enjoyed not having to constantly keep a conversation going, constant talking drained her very quickly. 

It didn’t take long to arrive at the loungers, and Hope patted a space next to her for Alecto and Marisol. Alecto carefully sat down, being mindful of her toe.

“Are you okay? You’re limping, and you look upset. Both of you do.” Hope looked at her and Marisol with concern, gently putting her arm around Alecto. 

“My toe still hurts from earlier. It’s not broken, I’m just being careful with it. Marisol was helping me, and we had a much needed chat. I’ll be okay, it’ll probably be a bit stiff and bruised but I can still walk which is a good sign. Thank you for caring, it means a lot.” Alecto moved closer to Hope, leaning her head on her shoulder. Lottie made eye contact with her briefly, then looked away, taking on an air of disapproval. _Whatever. If she can’t be a mature adult about this, then fine. You don’t have to be her friend._

“That’s good to hear. I’m glad about that, I trust your instincts, so if you two are friends again, that’s completely cool by me. I don’t want to control you or influence your decision making.” Hope smiled, linking hands with her and giving her hand a gentle squeeze. _That’s true friendship, right there. You’re so right to choose her and Marisol over Lottie._

“This is how it’s meant to be, ladies. The lads flapping about trying to impress us while we lounge by the pool.” Lottie smirked, looking like the cat that got the cream. She pointedly avoided looking at Alecto, focusing instead on a point in the distance and not even taking notice of Alecto’s injury. _And now she’s going to ignore you. How childish!_

“But what are they meant to be doing? Aren’t talent shows all skimpy swimsuits and speeches about world peace?” Hope asked.

“Bring on the sexy swimwear, I say!” Priya grinned.

“I can’t wait to see what Noah’s hidden talent is.” Hope winked.

“She’s deffo already seen his ‘hidden talent’…” Priya grinned. _Hmm. Those two are definitely the love birds of the flock. How nice it would be to be in a stable and loving couple._

Priya nudges Hope, who goes red. Alecto leaned her chin on her hand, deep in thought.

“What are you going to be looking for, Alecto?” Marisol squeezed her hand, causing Alecto to look up at her, being snapped out of her thoughts entirely. The unexpected flirty expression caused Alecto’s cheeks to flush. Her mind went blank, and she scrambled for some words, trawling through her mind.

“Umm...They’ve got to have some kind of talent?” She bit her lip, not looking at Marisol as she tried to make her cheeks return to normal. Hope nudged her, winking. _Wait. You’re that obvious, that she knows? Wow._

“Some might say being hot is a talent…” Priya licked her lips.

“Noah checks all those boxes. He’ll ace this challenge.” Hope grinned.

“Do you think Bobby will make a cake?” Priya asked. _Ooh, cake. Just what you need after all this!_

“He’d better make a cake. That’s gotta be the main perk of coupling up with a professional chef. Homemade cakes! If he wants my vote he’d better get baking.” Alecto looked up, aiming her gaze directly at Lottie. Her words were meant entirely for her, and Lottie met her gaze this time, brushing off her comment and completely blanking her. _Despite her couple being a friendship couple, it’s a strong one. He must be talented, to have that kind of job._

“At least Bobby has a skill. What’s Gary going to do? Talk about his nan?” Marisol asked. Alecto raised an eyebrow, giving Marisol an icy glare. Marisol blinked and flinched in response, clearly not expecting it. _That’s rude. There’s nothing wrong with him being family centred, he must admire her a lot. There might be a story behind why he’s so close to her._

“Aww, don’t be mean! It’s sweet that he’s so close to his nan.” Hope gave Marisol a disappointed look at her comment. _You’re definitely not the only one who thinks Marisol’s out of line, then._

“A bit too close to his nan if you ask me.” Marisol said, looking shifty. She wasn’t as certain in her words as previously, the glare had a slight impact on her. _Good, she should regret her earlier comment. How mean of her._

“Are you trying to say he fancies his nan?” Priya asked, giving her a sceptical look.

“Marisol, he just loves his nan. It’s a sweet quality. Stop psychoanalysing everything!” Alecto jumped in, the ice in her words enough to freeze the sunshine. Her eyebrow remained raised and she had a clear glare aimed at Marisol. Marisol shivered, hugging herself and looking down at the ground. Alecto felt a little guilty at how harsh she was, she felt Hope link hands with her and she looked up, noticing the small smile on Hope’s face. _Maybe you were too harsh? You’ve had an impact on her. But she needed to hear it, it was messed up to say that. Hope definitely agrees with you and doesn’t believe you were too harsh._

“Maybe you should analyse your taste in men, Marisol.” Lottie snapped, the anger in her voice making Alecto flinch. Hope squeezed her hand in comfort, and she felt Marisol link hands with her on her other side, repeating Hope’s action of comfort. _Even when you hurt her, she’s mature enough to understand your point and comfort you when you need someone there._

“...Gary is pretty handy. Bet he could make a shoe rack of lollipop sticks.” Marisol conceded, finding something positive and her expression returned to neutral.

“I think most of the guys have something going for them.” Priya said, trying to bring the conversation back.

“What’s Rocco’s talent? Cracking onto all your mates in a day?” Lottie jumped in, pouting and faking sadness. The anger in her voice was still present, and sparks were coming from her eyes. Alecto struggled to look at her directly, knowing the angry display would only cause her to burst into tears again. 

There’s an awkward silence. All the girls look at Alecto sympathetically except Marisol, who looks at her nails and lets go of Alecto’s hand. Hope pulls her close, stroking her back.

“I’m sorry babe, but you know it’s true.” Lottie grabbed her other hand, causing Alecto to look at her. It was a surprise to see genuine emotions of sadness in her eyes. _If she cares so much, then why did she just throw it in your face again to get back at Marisol? That’s far from the mark of a good friend._

“You’re right. Grafting on the sly is his talent.” Alecto replied, the ice in her voice strong enough to freeze the Pacific Ocean. She looked directly at Lottie, noticing the hint of a smirk on her dark lips.

“Rocco’s been terrible. He won’t be getting two words out of me.” Priya agreed, the disgust clear on her face. _Has hell frozen over? Lottie and Priya both agree!_

“Unless he starts talking about adders…” Lottie flashed a look of disappointment at Priya.

“They’re well poisonous and it happened in Cumbria! How close is that?” Priya explained.

“It didn’t matter how good his snake chat was. We weren’t talking to him, Priya!” Lottie snapped, releasing Alecto’s hand suddenly. Her tone caused Alecto to shake violently, her teeth chattering. She focused on not crying, Lottie’s tone had caused tears to start appearing in the back of her eyes. _When will the tears be spent? You’ve probably cried an ocean from this situation alone!_

Priya pouts and crosses her arms. Hope and Marisol both reached out to Alecto, picking up on her discomfort.

“Rocco’s not all bad. We shouldn’t judge him too harshly.” Marisol protested.

“I’ll judge however I like, thanks very much.” Lottie snapped back. A dam burst within Alecto, tears starting to trail down her cheeks once again. She gulped, trying to swallow past the lump in her throat. 

“Be real, Marisol. Would you want to date someone who’s done what he’s done? Especially to someone as kind and sweet as Alecto.” Hope squeezed her hand. Alecto removed her glasses, hiding her face in Hope’s shoulder and releasing her tears. Hope stroked her back.

“I couldn’t date a guy I outright knew I couldn’t trust.” Priya pointed out. _Been there, done that once already with Étienne! Once is enough, ta very much._

“I don’t know...There’s something about bad boys. Am I right, Alecto?” Marisol asked. _Really. Read the room, for once!_

“I...I prefer nice guys. There’s none of that game playing or worrying that they’re cheating.” Her voice was shaky and muffled, due to her hiding in Hope’s shoulder still. _You’ve now been cheated on twice. Is there something wrong with you, in that people must leave? Are you really that bad?_

“Sounds boring.” Marisol sounded slightly disappointed. _Hold on. Have her previous relationships been toxic so she automatically leans towards unhealthy relationships? That’s sad if so._

“If by ‘nice’ you mean ‘considerate and respectful’ then I can’t understand why you wouldn’t want that. I don’t get the fixation with bad boys. They’re bad. Like, by definition. Come on girls. This talent show is divine providence.” Lottie grinned. Her tone flip-flopped from anger to a strange form of happiness that was hard to read. Alecto felt herself shake again, and Hope tried to comfort her.

“Or it’s a fun challenge and we should put this Rocco drama behind us.” Marisol said, her voice wavering slightly as she looked at the floor. _Having nearly everyone against you must be hard. You do sympathise with her, you’ve been there. The way Lottie’s going about this is so wrong and like high school bully style._

“Alecto was right when she said we should stop this.” Priya said.

“You and snakes...As far as I’m concerned he doesn’t exist.” Lottie snapped again, the fire in her words continuing to have an impact on Alecto, despite being turned away from Lottie.

“Really Lottie? Your reluctance to let this go is more than a little bit petty. Don’t you see how you’re having a major impact on Alecto here, or don’t you care? She’s the one actually involved here, yet with all your firestarting, it would appear you’re involving yourself in it, despite Alecto making it clear how uncomfortable she feels about arguments or loud noises. You’re going completely against her wishes, that’s a sign of a bad friend to me.” Marisol replied, fixing Lottie with a cool gaze. _She stuck up for you again. You’re definitely thankful for that._

Alecto looked up to see Lottie glaring at Marisol, and flinched.

“Umm...I think I left my water bottle in the kitchen.” She wobbled as she got up, her voice shaky. She put her glasses back on, despite the tears. 

“I’ll help you over there.” Hope and Priya both stood, sliding an arm around her and between the two of them managing her weight pretty well.

“Th...thank you.” She tried for a shaky smile.

“You’re welcome. Lottie’s so out of line. I feel a little guilty about leaving her with Marisol, despite her decision she doesn’t appear entirely certain of anything at all. What I’m trying to say is have you noticed her being off?” Hope asked. _Yup. You definitely have. Maybe it’s because you were involved or something._

“I’m mostly fine regarding my toe now. It just hurts a lot and I have a slight limp, but if I’m careful, I’ll be okay. You two don’t need to stay with me if you don’t want to. On a side note, I’ve definitely noticed her being off. Maybe it was because it was me involved? Like I’m the person she’s closest to, so maybe she’s regretting it a bit.” Alecto was able to make her voice steady when they arrived in the kitchen. She’s well practiced at pretending to be okay when she isn’t. She mainly wants some time to herself if she’s completely honest.

Both Hope and Priya nodded, leading her to the counter and leaving. _Thankfully that was nice and easy. Getting some alone time in this place is so difficult._

She retrieved her water bottle and limped over to the sink. She was filling it up when she hears a hiss. 

“Psssst!” She jumped at the unexpected noise, wincing slightly as it caused a fresh wave of pain in her toe. _Wait. Is that a snake or a person?_

“Psssst!” She turns towards the noise, hand raised, ready to chuck her bottle. It’s only Noah.

“Psst. Alecto...Bobby needs your help.” Noah said, looking at her with a strange expression on his face. _Help with what? You have a lot of your own problems to handle currently and was enjoying some alone time._

“Help with what?” Her voice was icy, as she eyed him pointedly.

He looks around furtively.

“Mr. Love Island. I can’t talk out here. Come with me. He’s upstairs.” Noah darts off towards the Villa and she follows.

A passion fruit scented mist lingers in the air as she follows Noah into the dressing room. The first thing she sees is Bobby crowbarring himself into one of Priya’s dresses. Henrik is looking at different lipsticks.

“Are you sure it won’t be too much?” Henrik asked.

“No pal, that’s definitely your colour.” Noah encouraged him. _Wow. What have you just walked in on?_

“You’ve got to help, Alecto. I can’t get Priya’s dress on!” Bobby grinned at her.

“Priya’s dress!?” She looked at him sceptically. _Hmm. No can do. It will probably be a good idea to stop by the bathroom before you go back out again, you need a freshen up for sure._

“No, sorry. Maybe try and get Noah to help you?” She backed out of the dressing room and made her way to the bathroom before anyone could stop her, leaving the chaos behind her. To her relief, it’s entirely empty. She removed her glasses and set them by the sink, splashing water on her face. She looked at herself in the mirror, trying to perfect a mask to block all of this out. _Maybe crying at the drop of a hat should be something you get rid of soon. You need to develop more of a thick skin._

She leaned on the counter, focusing on her breath and steadying herself. Once she could move without shaking, she put her glasses back on and left the room, going slowly so she could manage her limp. She steps back outside. The girls have draped themselves over the daybeds.

“How’s it looking in there?” Priya asked.

“I’m telling you, it’s chaos.” Alecto winced slightly at remembering the state of the dressing room, gently sitting down on the daybed close to Hope in the only available bit of space. She curled up her legs, resting her chin on her knees.

“What are they doing?” Priya asked.

“You don’t want to know. Anyway, we’ll be finding out soon enough.” She stretches out on the daybed, enjoying the feeling of the sun’s warmth on her skin. The calm silence is interrupted by Priya yelling… “I’ve got a text! Ladies, take your seats at the judges table. It’s time to decide which boy has what it takes to be crowned Mr Love Island. We’re in for a right treat.” 

Alecto sat up hurriedly, nearly falling off the daybed and forgetting about her toe until her feet hit the floor and got tangled together, causing her to hit the ground.

“Ow! Um...guys, could I have a hand here?” She called after the others, who’d already started to make their way over. Marisol was hanging back and she turned back, making her way over to Alecto and helping her up. She felt a feeling of warmth as she leaned against Marisol and they followed the other girls to the judges table slowly.

“Are you okay? You had quite a sudden landing there.” Marisol said, concern in her voice.

“I’m fine, just got tangled up in my own legs. I misjudged the distance between the daybed and the floor and panicked when I nearly fell off it. Then messed up when my feet hit the floor as I moved too quickly. Thank you for earlier. The fact you keep speaking up for me against Lottie does mean a lot.” Her voice was stable, if a little quiet.

“You’re welcome. The way she’s acting is so frustrating. It’s obvious you don’t enjoy it, yet she keeps doing it! I don’t think she cares about you and your feelings in the slightest currently. I do feel a little lonely myself, it feels like everyone’s against me. I suppose that’s what I get for going for Rocco and getting taken in by him. Especially when you’re so kind and nice in general, you’re a good person. Even considering what I did, you’re still being nice to me, even though I don’t deserve it. Why don’t I feel satisfied or happy with what I did? I should feel happy, but I can’t as I hurt you.” Marisol sighed, biting her lip. She looked deep in thought and clearly sad. 

“Not everyone. You’ve still got me. And maybe Hope, she might warm up to you if you wait. Sometimes you do have to think before you act, it can help. The fact you’re owning up to your guilt, and not feeling comfortable is a good thing. Listen to it. I don’t care about Rocco, you can seriously have him! Just be careful, in case he cheats on you.” Alecto said, looking up at her. Marisol looked back in that moment and she found herself lost in dark chocolate eyes. 

They arrived at the lawn, and took their seats next to each other, and finally broke eye contact. She noticed Gary standing there waiting patiently and she winced slightly. _You’re holding up proceedings, again._

“Welcome to Mr Love Island.” Gary said.

“Check out how fancy they made it! Can we keep the pillars?” Hope was in awe, looking around with an open mouth.

“It’s so Miss World…” Marisol agreed.

“We’ve got three rounds of fun for you lovely ladies. At the end of them, one of the Love Island boys gets a pretty sash and a tiny crown…” Gary said.

“It’s called a tiara, Gary.” Lottie cut in.

“Not to mention a special something to be announced…”

The Islanders ‘ooooh’ and giggle.

“This is so exciting!” Priya grinned.

“We kick off with the swimwear round. Our first contender’s sexy, suave and great with his hands.” Gary holds his hands up to cheers from the girls.

“Form an orderly queue, ladies.” He struts around the pool to the music, pausing to strike different muscle man poses.

“Sweet lord…” Marisol raised an eyebrow.

“Go Gary! Go Gary!” Priya chanted.

When he arrives in front of the judges’ table, he slowly removes his top to reveal his muscular chest and abs.

“Take it all off!” Alecto called out. In a flash, Gary whips off his shorts to reveal his budgie smugglers. Seductively, Gary approaches Marisol. She can’t stop laughing.

“What are you doing?” Marisol asked, in between giggles.

Gary pulls out a bottle of baby oil and squirts it onto his chest to howls of laughter from the girls. Marisol rubs the oil into Gary’s chest, cringing all the way.

“Don’t act like you don’t love it.” Gary said, trying to encourage her to go along with it.

“It isn’t an act!” Marisol said through gritted teeth, her eyes wide. _You’re glad that wasn’t you, that would be difficult to play along with. But poor Marisol anyway, she was struggling to keep up with it._

“I’d hate to be the fella that had to follow that. Next up, the best thing to come out of Sweden since ABBA and meatballs. It’s Henrik.” Henrik emerges in swimming trunks covered in glitter wearing bright red lipstick. _Wow. That glitter will be a nightmare to clean up._

“Why is he wearing my lippie? And why does it look better on him?” Lottie pouted.

“Work it, Henrik!” Hope encouraged.

“Yaas Queen!” Alecto joined in, the infectious energy causing a warm grin on her face.

Henrik struts towards the judges’ table, gives the ladies a twirl and blows them a kiss.

“That’s what I’m talking about!” She grinned.

“Next up, a master baker who’s sure to get your temperature rising...it’s Bobby!” Gary said.

Bobby emerges in a dress. All the girls erupt into laughter with the exception of Priya.

“That’s my dress!” Priya stared at him.

The girls clap and Bobby struts his way to the judges’ table.

“Glad you’re loving the show, ladies. I’ve been practising…” Bobby loses his footing and falls hard onto the decking. He commando rolls to his feet and runs off leaving the girls in hysterics.

“That was the best thing I’ve ever seen…” Lottie smirked.

“Next up, a man who never misses a flight...Rocco!” 

Alecto says nothing while the boys and Marisol cheer. _She looks absolutely radiant, a wide grin on her face at the sight of him._

Rocco begins to run through yoga poses to show off his physique. Lottie yawns loudly while Priya and Hope share notes. Alecto claps politely and Marisol joins in. Rocco joins his hands in thanks. Alecto feels her fake grin starting to waver, and sighed with relief when he disappeared. _Phew, pretending to be fine is so hard, while being the bigger person. Hopefully Lucas is soon! Those feelings...wow...are so real!_

“Moving swiftly on…He’s everyone’s favourite bit of posh. It’s Lucas!” Gary announced.

Lucas appears at the other end of the pool and dives in. Alecto’s eyes are transfixed on him, her heart racing in her chest.

“What’s he doing? He’s meant to show off his swimwear, not go for a dip.” Lottie complained.

Lucas reemerges and pulls himself out of the pool, his muscles glistening in the sun. Alecto’s eyes appeared to go wider, unable to even blink. She feels dazed, Lucas has amazed her. 

“Am I the only one watching this in slow motion…” Lottie trailed off.

“His trunks are clinging to all the right places.” Priya licked her lips.

“Suddenly, I’m really thirsty.” Alecto’s voice goes dream-like and wistful, her cheeks flushing. Lucas is replaying in her mind’s eye, and she feels herself going more and more red. Hope squeezes her hand knowingly, giving her a subtle wink. _Are you that obvious, then?_

Noah and Ibrahim wrap up the swimsuit category.

As the boys get ready for the talent show round, the girls put their heads together to compare notes.

“I love that we’re getting to judge all the boys!” Lottie said.

“This is a dream come true.” Hope grinned.

“Favourites, girls? Who’s tickling your fancy?” Priya said.

“Bobby’s top of my list.” Lottie grinned.

“No surprises here but it’s Noah all the way. But after that display, Lucas is coming a close second.” Hope grinned.

“Alecto, who’s your favourite so far?” Marisol asked.

“Lucas definitely…” Her voice trailed off, brought back into the real world when Gary appears again.

“Who’s ready to see some secret talents?” Gary grinned.

“Get ‘em out boys!” Lottie smirked.

“Steady on, Lozza!” Gary looked a little uncomfortable. _Hang on, is there something between those two? You might be imagining it._

“First, we have a man of few words. Let’s give it up for Noah.” Gary said.

“I wonder what his talent is. I bet it’s something to do with books.” Priya said. _He appeared quite confident earlier, this will be interesting._

“For my talent, I will need the help of a lovely assistant.” Noah studied the girls.

Priya waves her hand frantically in the air, and Noah beckons her over. Priya takes a seat. Noah’s fingers move through Priya’s hair like lightning. He teases and crosses sections of hair.

“All done.” Noah said.

Priya runs a hand over the back of her head in amazement to find an expertly plaited French braid and gives everyone a twirl. _That’s definitely impressive! You can do them at speed yourself too._

“It looks gorgeous!” Hope grinned.

The girls applaud, clearly impressed. Hope beams with pride.

“It takes me forever to do a French braid!” Marisol complained.

“Next up, our own resident shaman, it’s Rocco!” Gary said.

Rocco emerges holding a tin can that he rattles ceremoniously.

“Today I’ll be performing a ritual I learned on my travels in Iceland…” Rocco announced.

Gary and Lottie roll their eyes at the same time. _Uh oh, Lottie might start shit yet again._

“A cleansing ritual to invoke a blessing from the spirits! You might want to find cover,girls. It’s about to pour down.” Rocco begins stomping his right foot and chanting while rattling his tin can. Lottie looks on entranced. Alecto looks up at the sky. For a second it looks as if it’s getting darker. The dance goes on and on and on… Three long minutes later the girls are bored and Rocco looks worried.

“Try jumping higher.” Alecto tried to encourage him. _Rain would be lovely but it doesn’t appear that the spirits want to co-operate with him. What a shame! Not, it’s just what he deserves._

Alecto lifts an eyebrow at him, teaming that with a glare to match her angry thoughts. He flinched slightly, as he made eye contact with her.

Rocco leaps higher. Marisol shakes her head sadly, Alecto reaches over and links hands with her, feeling the spark ignite in her palm. _Having to pretend none of this bothers you is so difficult! You’re ready to fall apart, but you won’t let yourself._

“Clearly, the spirits have been watching and they ain’t impressed…” Lottie said sarcastically, shaking her head at him.

Dejected, Rocco heads back to the boys. Ibrahim gives him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. Alecto let her expression return to normal, relaxing slightly. She feels Marisol squeeze her hand, making eye contact with her for an instant. The sadness is still present on her face, and Alecto wants to heal it, to wipe it away and bring Marisol’s smile back.

“It worked in Reykjavik…” Rocco complained. _That might be due to climate differences. Sunny and hot climates don’t have the same weather changes._

“Moving swiftly on.” Gary said.

Ibrahim appears and removes his shirt, then sits on the ground with the Rubik’s cube in his hands, wearing a blindfold.

“Hope, could you secure my blindfold please?” He asked.

“It’s on tight.” Hope checked.

She waves her hands in front of him to no reaction.

“He can’t see a thing.” She grinned.

“Start the timer, Marisol!” Marisol hits the timer. Ibrahim begins to do ab crunches and curls as he clicks the Rubik’s cube into place. The girls watch in anticipation.

“He’s on 20 crunches!” Priya said in amazement.

“He’s never finishing it.” Lottie presents it as a fact. _You have faith he will, thanks very much Debbie downer._

“Come on Rahim! You’ve got this!” Alecto cheered.

“Forty seconds, Ibrahim!” Marisol said, checking the timer.

“Done!” Ibrahim grinned. _Yay! You had faith in him, he easily beat Rocco there._

“That was forty four crunches in forty seconds!” Hope said in amazement. 

He removes his blindfold and proudly holds up the completed cube. Priya stands up to applaud.

“That was ridiculously hot.” Priya licked her lips.

“And it was definitely quicker than Rocco’s bit.” Lottie snapped.

The afternoon is a whirlwind of questionable talents like Henrik’s eyebrow dancing…

“Let the rhythm take you over ladies…” Henrik encouraged. 

“This is just creepy.” Priya complained.

Alecto raised her own eyebrow, giving him a frosty glare. Henrik flinched slightly. Alecto felt her hand shake, and looked next to her to see Marisol trying to stifle her giggles at Alecto’s own eyebrow glare. She poked Marisol in the arm, giving her a slight smile as she looked up. _At least she’s cheered up a bit. You struggle to see her sad._

Some ‘talents’ are hard to watch…

“Gary’s not going to eat that raw onion, is he?” Priya questioned.

“Prepare to be amazed…” Gary grinned as he started to eat the onion.

“It’s like watching a starved donkey…” Lottie stared at him.

“Gary, you’re sleeping outside tonight. I can smell your breath from here…” Marisol glared at him. She had let go of Alecto’s hand a while ago, and she studied her hand.

Other talents nearly take an eye out.

“Observe as I peel this boiled egg using one hand.” Lucas held it up.

“Why is he blowing into the boiled egg?” Marisol raised an eyebrow.

“He is going really red…” Hope pointed out.

The egg shoots out of his hand and heads directly for Lottie.

“Duck, Lottie!” Alecto warned her.

Lottie ducks and the egg narrowly misses her.

“Ta-da?” Lucas grinned nervously.

Bobby appeared next. _Please have an actual talent! Or food. That’ll work too._

“If you look closely you’ll see I’m wearing nothing more than a skimpy frock…” Bobby grinned.

“That’s not even the most revealing one I brought…” Priya said.

“And either he’s stuffed the bottom half or he needs a doctor urgently.” Hope said.

“But wait, what’s this I can feel?” Bobby pulls out a large handkerchief from his cleavage and shakes it out to show nothing is hidden within it. Then with a flick of his wrist and a puff of smoke, the hanky disappears and a perfect cupcake appears in his hand.

“Where was he hiding that?” Lottie stared, amazed.

“Oh no, not the bulge…” Priya wasn’t impressed.

“Something sweet for someone sweet.” He places the cupcake in front of Alecto. _Eep! He knows the way to your heart. Even though it was in his bulge._

“Aww, thanks babe. I love cupcakes.” Alecto gave him a warm smile that reached her eyes.

“You aren’t really going to eat that?” Priya stared at her.

“Bobby’s still top of my list.” Lottie grinned.

“Poor Rocco, this is not going well for him.” Marisol looked down, a frown on her face. _The sadness is back. You’ll need to support the sleaze bag that is Rocco to help her out there though. Urgh, fine. Only for her._

“Yeah, poor guy. It’s not been his day, has it.” Alecto reached over to Marisol, squeezing her hand again at an attempt to comfort her.

“Save your sympathy. I think the tool deserved it. He’s still got a chance to turn it around. Let’s see what he does.” Lottie snapped, sending a fiery glare at Alecto, who surprised herself in being able to hold it without flinching and her lips curled upwards as Lottie was actually the one to look away first. Marisol squeezed her hand, returning Alecto’s earlier gesture and giving her a small smile.

Alecto feels her head start to float off, brought into reality with Bobby’s words.

“Someone once said ‘You can’t hurry love.’ I’m pretty sure they must have been an amazing baker. It takes time and the right ingredients to craft the perfect pastry. The same goes for finding someone special. When I do find her, she’ll always have a fresh pastry in her hand and a smile on her face. Thank you ladies. Someone better eat that cupcake. It was made with love.” Bobby finished. _Interesting speech, and very typical of Bobby._

Alecto pokes herself in the arm to snap herself out of her head, looking up and listening to Gary in front of her.

“I wanted to talk about something close to my heart...Some of you know that my nan is big on charity work...She’s taught me to give back to society and to get involved in community issues. I’ve helped her out at the soup kitchen and helped to build the local youth centre...I may not bang on about spiritual connections or being at one with the world. But I care about the folk around me and I know that if I win Mr Love Island I’ll bring that community spirit to the house.” Gary said, with a serious expression on his face. _You respect him for that, a lot. You can still smell the onion though._

“Wow, I’ve never seen a serious side to Gary before.” Marisol commented.

“And to top it off just look at me. No need to pinch yourselves, ladies, I’m real.” Gary finished with a smirk.

“And there it is.” Marisol looked disappointed. 

“We can smell you from here! Go and brush your teeth, Gary!” Lottie grinned.

“Who doesn’t love the smell of onions?” Gary looked confused.

Next up is Rocco.

“I came into the Villa to find my soulmate and make a meaningful connection…” Rocco began. _Hmm. Soulmates. You can certainly go on for hours about that._

“Do you girls believe in soulmates?” Alecto whispered, keeping her voice loud enough to carry to the end of the judges’ table, but no further.

“I mean it could be possible…” Marisol trailed off, getting lost in thought. _Hang on. Has her mind been changed then? Wow._

“I think I might have found my soulmate…” Hope said dreamily.

“On my journey to find love, I have made mistakes.” Rocco looks Alecto in the eyes. _What cheek! Hopefully he’s not saying you’re not a mistake, especially since you’ve done everything to be polite even though you want to lash out at him with all of your being._ She can’t stop herself glaring at him, her eyebrow raising. 

“Mistakes I deeply regret. But to err is human and to forgive is divine. Hopefully, the connection I make in the Villa will blossom into something wonderful. And that energy can lift the cloud that seems to be hanging over the Villa.” Rocco continued, his frown turning to a wide grin. _Ow. He’s saying that about Marisol, right? It can’t be you. He expects it to just blow over, how naive._

She lets go of Marisol’s hand, clasping her hands together and staring at them, biting her lip hard enough to draw blood to distract herself from tears. The burst of pain helped ground her and she blinked, refusing to look up.

“The cheek of this guy!” Lottie snapped, her inner storm cloud finally blowing up. Alecto flinched, staring into space. Rocco leaves to take his seat, but she doesn’t register it, or even Henrik’s speech after. Everything blurs into one, as she feels tears building again. She registers Marisol’s eyes looking at her with concern. She removes her glasses and takes a couple of deep breaths, looking up to see Lucas before her.

“I’ve been lucky to never have known true hardship, which is why I take nothing for granted…Not money, not friendships and definitely not love…” Lucas begins. 

“Lucas must be absolutely minted.” Hope said in amazement.

Lucas moved in Alecto’s direction, placing a hand on her shoulder as he leaves. She takes in a shuddery breath, feeling a new wave of tears and zoning out again, until Gary reappears. _You missed the last two speeches entirely._

“Right, ladies, it’s time for you to make a decision.” Gary said.

They huddle together to add up the scores.

“Ibrahim was great. But I think I’m going with Lucas.” Marisol said.

“So that’s fifteen points for Lucas…” Hope counted. _Yay, he deserves to do well. Not just because you have a thing for him._

“That’s five more than Rocco…” Alecto’s voice is barely audible, it’s as if she has disappeared entirely.

“I still think you were all a bit harsh with your scoring.” Marisol glared at the others, squeezing Alecto’s hand in an attempt to comfort her.

“Er, I voted down Henrik for that weird eyebrow thing.” Lottie pouted.

“Yeah and after Lucas attacked you with that egg…” Priya pointed out.

Marisol pouts.

“Fine. So it’s tied between Noah, Gary, Ibrahim and Bobby basically?” Marisol said, the sad expression reappears on her face.

“Well, Noah gets my vote.” Hope said. _Of course! You’re tempted to choose Noah yourself, it’s between Noah and Ibrahim really for you._

“Ibrahim was great, but so was Gary. It’s really hard to decide.” Priya said.

“I’m torn between Bobby and Gary. They both had me in stitches.” Lottie grinned.

“Who do you think should be Mr Love Island, Alecto?” Hope asked, looking at her with concern, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. _Hope’s attempt at comfort definitely is more successful._

“Noah is hands down the most dateable guy in here. He gets my vote.” She said, managing to get her voice more level. She wiped the tears from her eyes.

The girls deliberate a few minutes longer. The deciding vote is down to Priya.

“Ok, final decision. I agree with Alecto and Hope. Noah should win.” Priya said. _Yay! 3 votes for Noah so settles it._

“That’s settled then.” Lottie said. 

The boys line up in front of the judges table. Hope holds up a sash and a tiara ready to crown Mr Love Island.

“There was one clear winner. We all agreed he was the guy we’d most like to go on a date with. The Love Island boy we decided was the most dateable is...Noah!” Lottie announced.

Noah is cheered on by the boys and the girls. Hope places the sash on him and the tiara and he wraps his arms around her and gives her a kiss. Noah’s phone beeps.

“I’ve got a text…” Noah said.

“Must be that special prize!” Lottie said.

“What does it say?” Hope asked.

“Congratulations on winning Mr Love Island. For your prize you’ll be getting a phone call from someone special. I can’t believe it. I’m going to get to talk to someone from back home. I wonder who it’s going to be?” Noah looked delighted.

Alecto feels herself begin to float away, and she welcomes it. She sighs and eats the cupcake in front of her neatly, feeling the sugar hit her. She moves her glasses to a safe place and leans on her hands, staring into space and her eyes eventually closing. She shifts slightly, nearly falling asleep on the table. She can’t hear anything at all, just silence. The volume of the world around her has been muffled, making it easy to finally drift off, for a little nap.


	21. Chapter 21

The scent of banana and mango hits Alecto as she opens the door to the dressing room. Priya bounds over to her, a wide grin on her face. It catches Alecto slightly off guard, she feels much better after her nap though.

“Here, babes, try some of this!” Priya’s holding a brightly-coloured bottle of body spray. Alecto gave it a wary glance. _Oh fuck it, why not? You wouldn’t usually, but since everything’s crazy recently, try and go with it._

“Sure, why not?” She tried for a soft smile, just about managing it. She moves towards the dressing table, steadying herself by leaning against it. She struggled with being on her feet for too long due to the toe injury.

“Great!” Priya follows her, and covers Alecto’s eyes with one hand, then sprays all over her with the other. A cloud of coconut-scented mist fills the room. The amount of body spray Priya used caused a tickle to appear in the back of Alecto’s nose, she tried to contain her sneeze but lost the battle, sneezing loudly and making herself jump.

“Bloody hell, Priya!” Lottie snapped, glaring at Priya. 

“Sorry, babes! But now we’re all fabulously tropical. Tell me that’s not the best thing you’ve ever smelled.” The wide grin remains on Priya’s face, and she bounces slightly on her heels. _Someone’s very energetic. Wow!_

Alecto sneezed again, her eyes watering. She retrieved a tissue from the tissue box next to her and wipes her eyes.

“Bless you! Are you okay?” Priya gently rubbed her back, turning in Alecto’s direction. 

“I’ll be fine eventually once my nose gets used to the smell. That was quite a lot of body spray.” She blew her nose, sniffing slightly.

“I don’t think that one is really my scent, you know? I prefer something darker and more intense. Cloves, sandalwood, that kind of thing.” Lottie cut in, her eyes passing completely over Alecto’s head, pretending she didn’t exist. _Oh dear. She’s still being a child, then._

“Babe, I totally get you. It’s so important to find the right scent for your personality. What’s your thing, Alecto?” Priya asked. _At least she’s not participating in Lottie’s little mind games then. As for scents, your own natural scent is lemon, lime or strawberry. So you’re into fruity scents._

“My favourite scent is something fruity.” Alecto focused directly on Priya, completely blanking Lottie. _Two can play at that game. You might as well ignore Lottie, that friendship is becoming unsalvageable._

“Try this. It’s dragonfruit and gooseberry.” Priya grabs a bottle off the table and squirts a couple of sprays in Alecto’s direction. The new scent causes Alecto to blink, trying to hold back another sneeze and failing, sneezing for the third time. Hope looks up, coming in her direction.

“Are you okay? You’re sneezing a lot, are you allergic to anything?” Hope asked, looking at her with concern.

“I’m not allergic to anything that I know of, anyway. It is hay fever season though, I do sneeze a lot if I’m outside too much. Which is most likely causing this.” She explained, smiling softly at Hope.

“Smells like a smoothie Rocco would invent to cover the taste of wheatgrass. Although to be fair, there’s so much perfume and bodyspray in here I’m not even sure what I’m smelling anymore.” Lottie said, making eye contact with Alecto for a brief moment before turning away.

“That’s true. Would you guys mind ,um, toning it down? It’s kind of hard to enjoy my coffee when I’m tasting guava and pine forest with every sip.” Marisol’s lips are downturned, and her voice is slightly softer than usual. Alecto looks over at where Marisol’s sitting. Her space on the makeup table is filled with half-empty coffee cups. She appears slightly smaller than usual, curled in on herself at the opposite end of the makeup table to Alecto. She blended in with the surroundings slightly, making it difficult for Alecto to spot her at first glance. Her usual confidence has disappeared, leaving her small. The others don’t appear to pick up on it, but Alecto moves in her direction, stopping beside her and giving her a soft smile, sneezing again. For some reason, the amount of perfume is stronger at this end, and her eyes water. Marisol stands and wipes Alecto’s eyes, her hand lingering on Alecto’s cheek for what appears longer than it likely is. Alecto’s cheeks feel strangely warm, and she knows she’s likely blushing. _The others must have picked something up, right? Or are they really that oblivious?_

Marisol moves her hand, making eye contact with Alecto, a knowing smile on her face. 

“Sorry hun, but we’ve got to be our absolute best this evening. After seeing the boys this afternoon, I’m worried they’re wearing our styles better than we are. And that’s saying something when me and Alecto are around.” Priya said, shooting Alecto a warm smile. _Not really. You appreciate her being nice, but she’s a gorgeous goddess, which you definitely aren’t. You don’t have much of a fashion sense._

“Some of them can work it, for sure…” Alecto’s voice trails off and turns dreamy, lost in her thoughts about one boy in particular. _Lucas was the only one to occupy your mind, joined by Marisol, obviously. The others couldn’t hold a candle to their combined power._

“Bobby was like, a revelation in my dress. I’ve got to say I’m a little bit jealous of you, Alecto. Although the way Rahim popped his shirt buttons right off...it was like having my very own superhero.” Priya said. Alecto looked up at her, very confused. _Bobby? He’s coupled up with Lottie! Wait, does everyone think you’d be better with him? No way, not going there. He’s far too excitable._

“How did you feel about Rocco’s performance, Alecto?” Hope asked, giving her a knowing look. _She appears to be the only one who notices how you feel about Lucas. She’s slightly perceptive, but not to your level._

“He tried his best.” She said. She wished that she was the type to speak out fully without fear of judgement, but to spare Marisol’s feelings, she did a little white lie. She felt Marisol’s hand linking with hers and squeezing it to show her appreciation. _Okay, phew. She definitely picked that up then._

“They all really went for it, bless them.” Hope had a flirty grin on her face, likely lost in her feelings for Noah.

“Do you think Noah is ever going to take that sash off?” Priya asked, changing the subject slightly.

“I bet you he wore it when he was getting his phone call!” Lottie grinned.

“He’s really proud of himself, and so he should be. I think we all saw a different side to the boys this afternoon. They put on a good show, but they put themselves out there too. I thought what Noah said was so sweet.” Hope grinned. _You completely missed that entire speech. He likely talked about Hope, you think, anyway._

“He’s such a sweetheart.” Alecto gave Hope a warm smile.

“Isn’t he just?” Hope agreed.

“You’re so lucky.” Priya said. Alecto heard a beep, and felt Marisol release her hand. Marisol goes to pick up her phone and drops it on the table, her hand shaking quite a lot. Her compact falls onto the floor and powder goes everywhere. 

“And this is what happens when I don’t get to finish my coffee.” Marisol glared at the mess in frustration, a bite to her words. 

“We’ll clean it up later. What does the text say?” Priya asked.

Marisol steadied her hand, grabbing her phone again and scooping it up.

“Girls, you have a very important decision to make tonight. The boys are waiting for you at the fire pit.” Marisol read, her hand still shaking from the high volume of caffeine going through her system.

“Hashtag ‘dressed to impress’?” Hope asked.

“Obviously they’ve all worked hard at it tonight. Henrik was rocking that lipstick, but I bet he wants to show us how good he looks without it. They know we’re going to be judging them again tonight. And this time it’s serious.” Priya said.

“I’m so excited. I love it when my guy dresses up for me.” Hope grinned.

“I’m not being outdone by any of them, that’s for sure.” Priya turns back to the table and starts going through all her makeup.

Alecto moved in front of the mirror, taking a seat and releasing her hair from the tight braid, combing through it and making two small braids, leaving the rest of her hair down. She grabbed the braids and joined them together at the back of her head, checking herself in the mirror. She brushed out her fringe, making it neat and smiling at her reflection. She chose to go completely bare faced, to give her skin a break and show her freckles for once. She slipped a dark green bracelet on this time and stood, pushing in her chair. She gets ready to leave, not noticing Marisol’s eyes on her until she came up beside her.

“How did you do that so quickly? Without mistakes, too. You look amazing…” Marisol trailed off, slightly mesmerised by Alecto beside her. Her hands are still shaking from the coffee, and her eyes went dreamy. Alecto looked over at Marisol, her lips quirking up slightly at her expression.

“I’ll teach you, if you like. Not now, but a bit later. I’ve learnt a lot of hairstyles from Sophie, she’s taught me so much.” She explained, linking arms with Marisol and leading her outside after the others. 

The boys are standing in a line by the fire pit as Alecto arrives.

Priya looks at Noah.

“For heaven’s sake. I knew he’d still be wearing the sash.” Priya looks him up and down.

“I did earn this. You think I’m going to give up being Mr Love Island before I have to?” Noah pointed out.

“Babe, it’s my favourite outfit of yours.” Hope grinned.

“That doesn’t say much about what he normally wears, does it?” Gary chipped in.

“Did you wear the sash when you were on the phone?” Lottie asked.

“Obviously. It was a video call too, so my boys got to see me all dressed up.” Noah said.

“What did they say?” Hope asked.

“Babe, they love you.” Noah gave her a secret smile.

“Not that I want to take away from Noah’s victory...which we can all agree was truly deserved...but does anyone have an idea why we’re here?” Rocco asked.

“Apparently the girls have an important decision to make, and that’s why you’re all lined up. Don’t know exactly what it is yet, though.” Priya said, shifting from foot to foot. _About who’s most dateable, of course. There’s likely a shocking twist, maybe a dumping? There are two boys too many._

“I think it’s about who’s most dateable.” Alecto pointed out, fiddling with a loose strand of hair. 

“Well, yeah. But what exactly does that mean?” Hope asked, looking nervous.

“Um, I think we know who’s most dateable. It’s Mr Love Island, surely?” Noah asked, starting to pick up on the nervous energy around the fire pit.

“You did win the prize, babe. But you won it by saying you only wanted to date Hope. Being Mr Love Island and being the most dateable are not exactly the same thing.” Lottie pointed out.

Everyone falls into an uneasy silence, the suspense causing issues for all of them. Alecto hears a loud beep from close by.

“Oh, it’s me!” She grabs her phone and begins to read the text out loud. “Islanders, tonight the girls will decide which boys are most and least likely to leave the Villa with a girlfriend. Girls, you may discuss your voting as a group, but you will send your answers individually via text. The boys who are voted least likely to leave the Villa with a girlfriend will be vulnerable, and is at risk of being dumped from the island.” She finished. _Wow. You called that one well._

“What? Are you serious?” Hope gasped.

“That makes it official. Sounds like one of the boys is getting dumped over this. But after Alecto got ditched for another girl, that’s only fair.” Lottie looks pointedly at Rocco. Alecto’s stomach lurched, she looked anywhere but at Lottie, hoping she won’t start an argument again. Hope slid an arm around her shoulders and she leaned into it. 

“This is heartbreaking. We’re such a good group. I don’t want to see people leave just because they haven’t found the right person yet.” Alecto said, her voice barely audible. She pushed her glasses up her nose for something to occupy her hands. _You don’t entirely believe that, but you care about people’s feelings so am not going to attack people. You’re not Lottie, or even her friend._

“I know. This is horrible. How are we supposed to decide who stays and who might go home.” Priya agreed. 

“I want to keep who I fancy, and dump the boys who have screwed the girls over. Easy.” Lottie grinned. _Of course she isn’t conflicted. Any chance she can to start something._

“Babe, that’s not what the text said and you know it. We’re not just playing favourites here.” Marisol’s expression fell. There was now a distance between her and Alecto, Alecto hadn’t registered her moving in the slightest. _She knows it’s going to be difficult to keep Rocco, yet she still likes him. She’ll do anything she can, even stab people in the back, so watch out. Be careful._

Noah steps forward from the boys.

“And you shouldn’t. If some of the boys are going to be in danger, you should do this fairly. We’ve had our differences, but we’re a good group of lads and I don’t want to see it come down to who’s made the most friends.” Noah explains. _Exactly. He’s definitely right there. Even after what Rocco did, even he deserves fair treatment._

Alecto scans down the line of boys. They look nervous, and exposed. Rocco looks over at her, but she avoids his eyes.

“I think we need to have a little girl talk. Boys, would you give us a minute?” Hope asked, staying close to her.

“Of course, babe.” Noah leads the boys away onto the lawn.

“Before we get started, let’s just remind ourselves of what we’re doing. We need to decide which boys are most likely to leave the Villa with a girlfriend.” Hope started, maintaining a calm tone.

“I don’t think there’s anyone we could say for sure. It’s still the first week.” Marisol said, raising an eyebrow. _Hmph. Noah, definitely. Him and Hope are a very strong couple, the only other strong couple is Rahim and Priya. You hope you and Lucas could eventually couple up, so you need to be tactical and careful here._

Hope arches an eyebrow at Marisol.

“I know which boy I think is most likely to leave with a girlfriend.” Hope said, her voice pointed. 

“You and Noah are total couple goals already, to be fair. I’d be so surprised if he doesn’t ask you to be his girlfriend while we’re in here.” Priya agreed with Hope.

“Everyone can see him and Hope are perfect. You guys would have been together since day one, if Hannah hadn’t stolen him. But since the first recoupling, you two have been perfect for each other. He’s got to stay in the Villa.” Alecto explained. 

“Thanks, Alecto.” Hope squeezed her shoulder in thanks and pulled Alecto a bit closer to her, being mindful of the dodgy toe. Alecto leaned on Hope to take some weight off it.

“I think enough of us don’t want to see Hope and Noah split up that we don’t need to discuss it any more.” Priya said.

“We’ll all get to choose whoever we want when it comes to the vote, though.” Marisol pointed out, shifting from foot to foot. Alecto’s eyes were drawn to the movement and she made eye contact with Marisol before she looked away. _Weird. She is so off. Watch it._

“OK, who’s next?” Lottie asked.

“I’m coupled up with Gary. We should talk about him.” Marisol’s expression fell the minute she brought him up.

“No question from me. He’s not my type, personally, but I’m sure he’ll find someone in here.” Priya grinned.

“Will he, though? Priya just said he’s not her type. I’m coupled up with him, but you can all see that’s not going to work out. And I don’t know what’s going on with him and Lottie…” Marisol trailed off, looking anywhere but at Lottie and Alecto. _She raises a point, but is she just feeding him to the flames to save Rocco? There’s ulterior motives during this situation, you can’t technically trust anyone._

“What do you mean? There’s nothing going on with me and Gary. Why do you think there is?” Lottie snapped. _She shut that down so quickly. Suspicious._

“Sure, hun. Whatever you say. So that just leaves…” Marisol trailed off. Alecto felt the weight of everyone’s eyes on her. _He’s not for you but if Lottie gives him a chance, they could possibly work? You’ve already tried it with him once, and it’s Lucas or bust for you._

“He’s right for _someone._ Even if the right girl hasn’t walked in here yet, she still might. I don’t want him to lose his chance at love just yet.” She explained, looking pointedly at Lottie as she talked, noticing how Lottie dodged eye contact.

“Sounds like Gary’s safe to me. Who’s next?” Hope asked.

“What about Ibrahim? I definitely think he’ll find a girlfriend in here. I’m starting to feel like we might go that way already…” Priya grinned. _They’re likely the second strongest couple, but considering how two couples are in tatters, one couple’s a friendship one and the other remaining couple is Nope, it’s a no brainer that their couple’s second strongest._

“You guys would be cute together, I can see you ending up as a couple.” Alecto chipped in. She maintained her soft and more delicate tone, and kept being careful with her words as she spoke.

“I want us to do that pose where he’s bench-pressing me. I bet he’s strong enough for it.” Priya grinned.

“Don’t get me wrong, I really like the guy, but he’s such a muscle-head some of the time. If your method of flirting is a cheesy line and then showing off your abs, are you really in it for the long haul?” Lottie pointed out.

“He can solve a Rubik’s Cube too, babe.” Priya pointed out.

“So can my cousin, but he also thinks we live inside the earth and the sky is painted different every morning by magical elves.” Lottie said. _Is her cousin a child? Makes more sense than an adult believing that._

“Uh, what?” Priya looked confused.

“To be fair, he is nine years old.” Lottie said. _Aha, you called it!_

“What do you guys think about Bobby?” Hope asked.

“He hasn’t found the right person yet.” She sighed. _He’s nice, but has far too much energy. He’s so extroverted he tires you out in 5 minutes._

“I love the guy to bits, but we’ve got no chemistry.” Lottie said, looking sad. _He had the exact same thing with Marisol. He’s likely in danger then._

“It’s not enough to be a good mate in here, sadly.” Hope said.

“Which leaves us with Rocco.” Priya said. _Hang on. Aren’t we forgetting two more people? Lucas and Henrik may be new, but they’re far from invisible._

“Can I just say…” Marisol started, not making eye contact with Alecto and looking sad again. 

Hope cuts her off.

“Maybe we should ask Alecto. She’s the one who’s actually coupled with Rocco.” Hope said. _Hmm. You have two choices, technically three. Either you don’t care, you want him gone (which technically you do) or you can parcel him off to Marisol. For some reason, the last one makes your heart hurt, but maybe if you’re nice, she won’t stab you in the back to save him._

“I think him and Marisol deserve a chance.” Alecto looked up, making direct eye contact with Marisol, forcing confidence and a happy one-note tone into her voice. It appeared to work for Marisol, as her eyes lit up and she grinned. Hope gently stroked her arm, and she looked back at her, noticing how Hope managed to read her so well and pick up the fake happiness so easily.

“Thank you so much for saying that.” Marisol turns to face Alecto. “I didn’t want to hurt you. And I honestly don’t think Rocco did either. He’s just...not very good at dealing with the way things work in here.” Marisol grew less sure of herself as she explained, reaching out to Alecto and linking hands. It took all of Alecto’s strength to remain calm, to not pull away. She kept her focus on deep breathing and trying to slow her racing heart.

“Bit of an understatement there.” Lottie snapped, her harsh tone hurting Alecto’s ears. She dropped Marisol’s hand and moved away from Hope, covering her ears and watching Lottie warily, feeling a fresh wave of tears building and becoming powerless, feeling her emotions rush over her.

To her surprise, she felt Marisol put an arm around her, Hope doing the same quickly. Both of them spotted Alecto’s fragile state. She removed her hands from her ears, removing her glasses and setting her tears free. Priya took her glasses for safe keeping so they didn’t get tear tracks on them or get damaged, in case she forgot they were there. 

“I know I was silly to fall for his sweet-talking when he was actually chatting to all the girls. But I have fallen for him. At least a little bit. I’ve been trying not to let on, partly because I didn’t want to hurt you. You’re my best friend here, I was so scared of losing you. And partly because I didn’t want to get hurt either. I didn’t want Rocco to know how much I was starting to like him until I was sure. So now I’m thinking he might even end up with me as his girlfriend. But if you guys don’t agree I might not even get the chance to find out. It means a lot to me that you would say that, Alecto.” Marisol finished. Alecto takes a moment to gather her thoughts. Marisol looks at her expectantly.

“You...you heard Marisol...give him a chance.” Her voice was so shaky despite planning her words, she focused on Marisol before her, grounding herself in Marisol’s dark eyes. She could feel eyes sending daggers into her back, she supposed Lottie was angry on her behalf once again. _You just want Lottie to stop!_

“She makes a good case, but I just don’t know if he’s more likely than the others.” Hope explained.

“I guess this is why we’re all voting separately. It’s been really good to hear what all of you think, but I’m glad it’s going to come down to me on my own.” Priya said.

“So, should we go and make our choices then.” Marisol said, starting to move away from Alecto, who wobbled, grabbing out for Marisol again.

“Um, aren’t you forgetting someone?” Hope cut in.

“Or two people.” Lottie joined in. 

“Lucas.” Hope said, grinning.

“And Henrik.” Lottie mirrored Hope, lips tilting up. _Thank you! Finally. Now, say Henrik, so you can double cross them and make sure Lucas stays. Priya’s a wild card, while Marisol would do anything to save Rocco. Hope might be hard to fool, but she’s the most trustworthy. Lottie is also easily readable._

“You guys are still backing your new faves!” Priya said.

“There’s no way Lucas isn’t going to be a catch for some girl that comes in here.” Hope said. _Actually for you! He definitely has someone here already._

“Like you, you mean?” Priya grinned.

Hope looks away, but Alecto can tell she’s blushing.

“I might have a little crush. But I really like Noah too. If I wasn’t with him, things might be different.” Hope explained.

“I know who I’ve got my eye on...what do you think, Alecto?” Lottie looked at her directly. _Do it. Be as confident and clear as possible._

“I don’t want to lose Henrik.” She replied, her voice becoming warm and losing all trace of the earlier hesitation. Both Lottie and Hope raised their eyebrows, and Alecto kept calm and as natural as possible, her lips settling into a small smile. _You’re sorry that you have to use Henrik, but hopefully he’ll understand._

“Great. Let’s keep him in and we can argue about who gets him later.” Lottie winks at Alecto and sticks her tongue out. _So far, so good. You can do this!_

“Hold on a second…” Priya said, looking surprised.

“Yeah, I’m not sure about this.” Hope chimed in.

“I guess if I had to pick one, I’d pick Lucas.” Priya said. _Bingo! Muahaha! It’s working. Hopefully you fool Marisol too._

“Me too, actually.” Marisol agreed. _This is looking good. And weirdly satisfying._

“What are you talking about?” Lottie looked surprised.

“I just think he’s got the most potential.” Priya grinned.

“He’s sweet, and smart, and funny.” Marisol’s eyebrow raised, and a flirty expression appeared on her face.

“And doesn’t sleep in the woods for fun.” Priya continued.

“Lucas will definitely find someone in here.” Marisol backed up Priya.

Hope smiles to herself, but says nothing. She subtly nudges Alecto in the side, hinting with her eyes that she smells a rat.

“So I guess that is everyone then. I’ve got a pretty good idea who’s likely to leave with a girlfriend and who isn’t.” Priya said.

“And I’ve got a good idea who you’re all likely to ignore.” Marisol looked sad again.

“Shall we go and do this thing, then?” Hope said.

“With heavy heart, yes. I can’t believe someone going to get dumped over this.” Priya handed Alecto back her glasses, and left, Marisol leaving soon after. Alecto put her glasses back on and went to leave, but both Hope and Lottie held her back.

“Hold on. There’s something fishy here. Tell both of us later, we both know something’s up. I for one, didn’t blow your cover because I’m interested in what’s going on. Find me afterwards to explain.” Lottie said, looking her in the eyes and not giving Alecto a chance to say no, leaving quickly.

“I also want to know. Please tell me later.” Hope gently patted her shoulder before leaving.

Alecto scanned the Villa for a free space, sitting down by the pool. She listened to the lapping of water, letting it calm her racing heart. She can hear the sound of phones beeping around the Villa, and crosses her fingers in hope.

Her phone beeps, and she votes for Lucas easily to leave the Villa with a girlfriend and hits send. Her next choice is just as simple, she types Rocco’s name with a hint of hesitation then hits send. _Marisol will likely vote Henrik out, don’t feel too sad that you’re voting Rocco out. You’re both stabbing each other in the back, yet she doesn’t know that it is Lucas who consumes your waking thoughts._

Her phone beeps again, and she reads the text in her head. _Please gather at the fire pit for the results._

She wobbled as she swung her legs out of the pool, standing carefully and limping over to the fire pit. Her heart was racing even more, and she feels sick to her stomach.

The boys line up again in front of her. They look a lot more relaxed. She moves to beside Hope, leaning against her. Hope supports her without hesitation.

Alecto feels herself lose track of the conversation, her head spinning. She hears a beep, and her head snaps up.

“Oh no, it’s me.” Priya grabs her phone and begins to read. “Islanders, the boy who received the most votes, and that you think is most likely to leave the Island with a girlfriend is...Noah!”

Hope squeals, and runs to Noah. Alecto wobbles and nearly falls, but Lottie is able to save her, putting a gentle arm around her and letting her lean against Lottie. Lottie gently strokes her hair. Alecto watches Noah pick Hope up and kiss her.

“And that’s me.” Hope walks back to the girls and begins to read from her phone. “The boys who were voted least likely to leave the Island with a girlfriend were...Rocco...Henrik...and Ibrahim.” _Lucas is safe! You were right to do what you did, even though throwing Henrik under the bus is wrong._

Alecto can hear the intake of breath after each name. As soon as Hope’s finished, everyone starts talking at once.

Hope’s phone beeps again. “Guys, there’s more. The three boys who were voted least likely to leave the Island with a girlfriend will now face a public vote. The public will vote on the boy they want to have another chance at love. The remaining boys will be dumped from the Island.” Hope finished.

“Are you serious? My guy might be dumped and I’ve just got to wait and see?” Priya grumbled. 

Alecto looks at the boys. Noah and Hope are already holding hands. Rocco and Marisol have disappeared.

“Come on lads, it’s going to be fine.” Hope tried to comfort them.

The rest of the boys are muttering between themselves.

“I feel like I only just got to know you lads. But it’s been an absolute pleasure.” Henrik said. His words tug at Alecto’s heartstrings and she feels herself having to blink fiercely to avoid tears. _Having to make the choice you did was definitely hard. But it does show that you were right to be wary of Priya and Marisol. If you had trusted them, Lucas would’ve been in this position which would be worse by far._

“Mate, it was an honour to be in the Villa with you. And you don’t need to talk like that. We don’t know you’re going yet.” Lucas said, putting an arm around him.

“At least one of us is. I know how much harder it is coming in later. We’ve both had to work to make an impression.” Henrik’s face fell.

“I hope you get to stay.” Alecto looked up, giving him a soft smile.

“Me too.” Henrik takes Alecto’s hand and looks into her eyes. “It’s nice to know someone’s on my side. I always thought you and I had a bit of a connection. If I do go, I’ll be disappointed we didn’t get a chance to get to know each other better.” Alecto bit her lip, looking away from Henrik, and he let go of her hand. _You’ve maybe given him the wrong idea here. And you owe Lottie and Hope an explanation, that is if they remember._

“Um, guys? Are we not even going to talk about who voted for Ibrahim to be dumped? I voted Rocco, just so you know.” Lottie cut in, moving to be beside Alecto again.

“The public will save him.” Alecto said, linking her fingers with Lottie’s. 

“They had better. I’m glad you’re staying positive, because I’m raging. I feel as though one of the girls has totally betrayed us, and I’m going to find out who it is.” Lottie glared, for once directing it away from Alecto and squeezing her hand. _Hmm. Has she given up on her weird vendetta against you? Or is it just for tonight, as there’s bigger fish to fry?_

Marisol and Rocco come back to join the group. Marisol’s makeup is smudged, like she might have been crying.

“Who has betrayed who?” Marisol glared at Lottie. Her expression changed for an instant and guilt flashed across her face when she made eye contact with Alecto. Alecto felt her eyebrow raise in response, and trained an icy glare in Marisol’s direction. _Seriously? If you had been truthful, she would have betrayed you for the second time since the start._

“I think that’s my cue.” Lottie fakes a yawn, badly, sliding her hand from Alecto’s. “I’m going to go to bed.” _What happened to wanting to know the truth? Suppose that was a lie._

“That’s probably best. It’s been a long day for all of us and we wouldn’t want to say anything we might regret.” Marisol said.

There’s a few nods of agreement, and everyone starts to head towards the bedroom. Hope hangs back, attracting the attention of Lottie, and moves in Alecto’s direction. Alecto stops, letting everyone else vanish off. 

“Right. We can’t do this here, so roof terrace?” Alecto wobbled on her feet and Hope and Lottie caught and steadied her. “Maybe wearing these shoes with a toe injury wasn’t my best idea.” She laughed, crouching down and taking them off, holding them by the straps and going barefoot. 

“Maybe the loungers is a bit better of an idea. I’m just conscious of your injury.” Hope said, looking at her with concern. Alecto nods and starts to limp over, with Hope and Lottie on either side. It is so silent you could hear a pin drop, and Alecto listens to the sounds of the night and the lapping of the water as they get closer to the pool. When they take a seat, Alecto scans the surrounding area for eavesdroppers. To her relief, it is free from people.

She takes in a breath, and organises her thoughts in a way that means she can get this over with.

“Coast is clear. Right, you two managed to pick up that there was something weird going on. I said that I preferred Henrik to Lucas, for multiple reasons. I don’t fully trust Priya and Marisol, which it appears I was right about having doubts. 2 people voted for Henrik just now. I voted for Rocco, same as Lottie.” Alecto looked up, making eye contact with both Lottie and Hope. Hope easily held the eye contact, looking relaxed, but Lottie looked away and shifted in her seat.

“I’ve got a confession to make. I actually voted for Ibrahim, because of the reasons I said before in the discussion. But I wouldn’t vote for Lucas or Henrik. Lucas because I’ve noticed that you like him, even though you haven’t told me. You look more comfortable around him than you are around the other boys. So I’ll admit I was surprised you said you prefer Henrik, when the evidence was pointing in the other direction.” Lottie explained, looking up from her hands. _Which is why she got so angry about Ibrahim being in the bottom 3. Clever. If she got annoyed, she wouldn’t be blamed._

“I actually did vote for Rocco. To support you as you’re a true friend to me.” Hope gently linked hands with Alecto.

“That makes sense. Also Lottie,I’m not going to judge you for having a different opinion to me. I’ve never been that type of person, and I won’t start now. I do prefer Lucas, and I’m definitely more comfortable around him. Which is why I had to make sure he stayed. I had enough of an idea to be fairly certain who you two would vote for but both Priya and Marisol were a little difficult to decipher. I had to be tactical in order to gain my desired result. Marisol would have done anything in order to save Rocco, which means it was a pretty good bet she would pick one of the new guys, for the simple reason that they’re new, if anything. Priya, on the other hand, was a complete wild card, so I had absolutely no idea. Both of them were definitely acting strange too, while both of you were more normal. Saying Henrik was entirely tactical, I had a sneaking suspicion that both of them would instantly back Lucas that way. The fake warm tone and confidence were also part of the puzzle into successfully fooling them. The difficult part was hoping you two wouldn’t blow my cover, so thanks for that.” She finished. Both of them stay silent for a little bit, and she shifts nervously in her seat. Lottie throws her head back and lets out a cackle of laughter, startling Alecto slightly. Her lips twitch as she watches Lottie get consumed by her own laughter, eventually joining in herself. Hope is watching both of them with wide eyes, until she joins in. If anyone walked by at that moment, they’d think they were absolutely mad. 

Eventually all of them recovered, Alecto not maintaining eye contact so she wouldn’t get set off again.

“That’s absolutely amazing! You completely tricked Marisol when she prides herself on being excellent at reading people. You’re genuinely good at it, and you don’t boast in order to make yourself seem better which she has a habit of doing. That’s hilarious, thanks for the explanation.” Lottie grinned at her, her green eyes lit up with happiness.

“Don’t tell Henrik or Lucas. I’d prefer to not spoil what could be Henrik’s last day, and I’d like to explain to Lucas myself, so please let me do that. Promise not to, and don’t tell anyone else. Keep it between us entirely.” Alecto asked, linking hands with both of them and having a serious tone, making eye contact with each of them in turn. 

“Got it. Lips are sealed, promise.” Lottie held a finger to her lips, and grinned at Alecto. “Thanks for this, it cheered me up.”

“I’ll keep my lips sealed too, don’t worry. I understand your reasoning and am impressed by your quick thinking. We should probably get to bed, don’t you think? Get sleep to be ready for tomorrow.” Hope said, giving her a smile.

All three of them stand and Alecto puts an arm around both of their shoulders, Lottie grabbing Alecto’s shoes.

“My toe is gradually looking a bit better, apparently more bruising means it’s healing.” She yawned slightly, setting the other two off. 

When they arrive inside, they get ready for bed quickly and quietly, Alecto was glad to have the bed to herself once again. 


	22. Chapter 22

Alecto stumbles into the beach hut with Rocco, bleary-eyed from sleep. She takes a seat. Rocco perches beside her, a little stiff.

“We’re ready. Let’s do this. Two new boys have entered the Villa. What do you both think of Henrik?” Alecto read the first question, trying for a small smile. _Hmm. You can either take the high road here, or start messing with him, which he does technically deserve._

“He’s got a great vibe. I think he’ll be good for the Villa.” she maintained a gap between her and Rocco on the couch, moving as far from him as she could and managing a warm smile.

“Yeah, I think I agree with that. He’s like a hype machine! I reckon it’ll be good for us, having someone like that around.” Rocco grinned, trying to grab Alecto’s hand, and she promptly flinched away from him. _You’re back in skittish cat mode, which only doesn’t apply around Marisol, Hope and Lucas. Speak of the devil._

Her phone beeped with the next question. 

“And what do you think of Lucas?” she read out and she felt herself go soft and dreamy, her eyes losing focus. Rocco cleared his throat next to her.

“He’s a total dreamboat!” her voice went soft and she let her feelings take her over, a dreamy smile on her face. Rocco crosses his arms, turning slightly away from her.

“Really? Dreamboat? I don’t know if I’d go that far…” Rocco looked very miffed, a sad expression on his face. _Shoe’s not so good on the other foot, huh? Looks like he’s actually jealous. You feel no pity whatsoever, he put you through hell over the past couple of days._

She smirked slightly at his reaction, the tension gaining a voice in the room.

“Moving onto the girls. Alecto, which girl do you think causes the most drama?” Rocco read out the next question. _Absolute no-brainer, got to be Lottie._

“Lottie.” She kept her answer short and sweet, and fiddled with a loose lock of hair, she had left in the two small braids from yesterday, so parts of her hair would end up more curly when she eventually took them out.

“Yeah, I get that she can be a little...is ‘sharp’ the right word? But she’s completely different if you’re on her good side.” Rocco pauses, turning away from the screen to look at Alecto, studying her carefully. She squirmed slightly under the weight of his stare, managing to keep still and appear unbothered. _Wait. Does he know about the kiss? You’re screwed if so._

“I’m actually quite surprised you think that though. It looked like you were getting along really well.” Rocco elaborated. _Yes, but that was in the past, until you two kissed and she started changing towards you. She did defend you with the Rocco thing, but compared to how she’s been treating you recently, that’s not enough for her to get back on your good side again._

“A lot has gone on these past few days. Alecto, how do you feel about what happened with Rocco?” Rocco read out, watching her carefully. _Hmm. Shall you let him have it? Or still not. Snapping at people is far from what you’re comfortable with._

“I’m kind of hurt. I liked him a little bit, but he threw it all away.” She took a couple of deep breaths, refusing to look at him. She pushed her glasses back up her nose again.

“I’m sorry, I...I just kind of panicked a bit. I didn’t realise these questions would be so intense!” He was speechless to start with, but eventually found yet another excuse. She felt a harsh laugh bubbling in her throat and let it go, making him jump. _Of course they’re going to be intense, this place feeds off raw emotions and drama. Talk about oblivious._

Alecto’s aware of his presence beside her as the next question appears on the screen. 

“Is there someone else in the Villa you’d rather be with?” She read out, her lips twisting slightly. _Go on, let him have it._

“Give me literally anyone else.” the ice in her voice, complete with a frosty glare, froze him on the spot, until he finally found some words.

“Woah, easy on the angry vibes. There’s no need for all this negativity. All I’ve done is be true to myself.” He appeared to be in shock at her comment. 

When it was finally finished, Alecto moved as quickly as she could away from him, forgetting about her dodgy toe until she reached the dressing room and came to a stop. A small burst of pain grew in her foot as a result. 

The girls have just started getting ready for the day when Alecto rocks up to the dressing room. Across the room, Priya is helping Marisol style her hair.

“Where have you been off to? We woke up and you were just gone. Worried me a little!” Hope looked up, moving in her direction.

“Geez, how many places could she have been?” Lottie rolled her eyes at Hope, her eyes passing over Alecto completely.

“I went to the beach hut with Rocco.” Alecto explained, trying for a smile but ultimately failing due to a combination of her frostiness with Rocco earlier and her toe. 

“Then we won’t pry, will we girls?” Hope grinned.

Hope and Lottie turn their attention back to the mirrors, leaving Alecto to get ready in peace. Alecto retrieved a black bikini and a matching pair of sandals and went to get changed, quickly reappearing again. She took a seat in front of the dressing table, stretching out her toe and examining it. She could walk a bit easier now, which was a relief. It was a good idea to wear sandals instead of high heels, to give her feet a break. She’d be shorter than the others no matter what she did. She looked in the mirror, releasing the braids from yesterday and neatening her hair up a bit, making her natural waves more pronounced. She could see Marisol in the mirror, and part of her wanted to go over there, to try and comfort her somehow. _She would have stabbed you in the back to save Rocco, so maybe now isn’t the right moment. The fact that you saw it coming and are not at risk of losing Lucas means that you aren’t as frustrated with her as you could possibly have been._

Across the room, Priya douses Marisol in a mist of hairspray. Priya inspects her work, running her hands through Marisol’s hair. She nods. Alecto noticed Marisol watching her out of the corner of her eye, and shifting slightly. _She’s uneasy, again. Maybe because of Rocco likely going? Or is voting for Henrik making her feel guilty?_

“I can’t believe two of the boys will be going home later.” Priya said.

“Yeah, it’s a shame. Henrik is really good looking.” Marisol sighed, looking down. She appeared sad again. _Wait. Henrik? What happened to Rocco? Argh, all this theorising will give you a headache._

“What happened to Rocco? Moved on from him already?” Lottie twirled a lock of hair around her finger, her words dripping with sarcasm. She rolled her eyes, shooting Alecto an unexpected look of sympathy. _And she’s stirring the pot, again. Both of them are being so massively weird!_

“That’s not what I-!” Marisol snapped, glaring at Lottie, who quickly cut her off.

“Maybe we shouldn’t be surprised though, given how fast you got over Gary…” Lottie pouted at her. _Back to her old ways, you’ve noticed. You have no idea where you stand with her either._

Marisol looks like she might say something, but stops short. _Wait. Did she give up on the fight for you? Or are you imagining things?_

“I’m not doing this with you right now, hun. We’ve been over it like a million times already.” 

Marisol looked down again, biting her lip to hold back her words. Alecto stood, moving her chair in Marisol’s direction and taking a seat next to her, linking hands. Her hand was warm, and she tried to pull away, but eventually gave up, looking through her eyelashes at Alecto. Her dark chocolate eyes had unexpected sadness in them, and she shifted slightly to move closer to Alecto’s ear. “Can I talk with you, in private? There’s just something I want to clear up.” she whispered, her voice softer than usual and uncertain. _You’re worried about her, so of course. Despite what she did._

Alecto squeezed Marisol’s hand again in response, not feeling up to speaking right at that moment, and Marisol returned the gesture, turning to her and giving her a gentle smile.

“Bang on. No point rehashing old ground when we have to keep our spirits high. Positivity, girls! Let’s get out there and enjoy the sun.” Hope grinned, putting a gentle arm around Alecto as she came over, handing her a black cuff bracelet. “You nearly forgot to wear this, thought I’d give it to you before you forget it.” 

“Thanks.” Alecto found herself echoing Hope’s smile unconsciously, the other girl was like the sunshine, bright and vibrant. 

She waited for the other girls to leave, it wasn’t too long before the dressing room was empty apart from her and Marisol. She turned to Marisol beside her, waiting for her to make the first move.

“I just wanted to apologise. I voted for Henrik for least dateable and so did Priya, but I guess you saw that coming, when you tried to trick both of us and it completely worked! It took me until this morning to realise what happened, you’ve always been so close to Lucas anyway that you’d do absolutely anything to save him. Which makes sense, both of us have been fairly unlucky in our couples in general, both of us having two failed couples before we found someone who properly fit. A major difference is the way we went about it, going behind your back with Rocco wasn’t right for me to do, I know that much. I listened to him when he said you’d be okay with it, and that you wouldn’t care, given how you ‘clearly had eyes for the newest pretty boy’, which was likely in reference to Lucas. I should have checked with you also instead of taking him at his word. I’m lucky that I still have you for a friend, considering everything.I’m so sorry again, and hope I haven’t completely blown it, in terms of our friendship. I’m not sure how you keep giving me chances and keep forgiving me, I don’t know if I’d be as forgiving towards myself. ” She looked down at her lap, the shine of tears in her eyes. 

The room falls into silence, and Marisol is uncertain what that means for her, whether she’s blown it with her only friend here, or blown her chance to have something more. Alecto caught hold of her chin gently, and Marisol looked up to face Alecto, feeling the other girl’s arm loosely around her shoulders. To her surprise, she noticed the small smile on the other girl’s lips. _It would be lovely to just kiss her, to see what it feels like. It’s electric between you, you want to test your feelings, but maybe now isn’t the best time._

“I don’t hate you. In actual fact, I voted for Rocco myself so we both tried to hurt each other. I understand that you’d do anything to save Rocco, I feel the same way for Lucas. I’ve never felt this way before, apart from with Sophie. I had a hunch you’d do that which is why I ended up throwing Henrik under the bus to save Lucas, I couldn’t lose what we possibly had for each other. I hated having to do it, but I understand your decision has been eating at you, considering voting for Henrik. Please don’t tell him, or Lucas. I’ll do it myself later on, I want him to hear it from me directly. You forget that I’m good at reading people, both you and Priya were acting strange last night, so I followed my instincts. Maybe your reasons for voting for Henrik weren’t as reasoned as that, the situation probably impacted on you. I’m definitely not angry, we both did the same thing here, with me going a step further to save Lucas. I’m not usually that selfish, but I prefer not to give excuses. The fact you decided to approach me yourself means more than I can say, I respect you for being honest and truthful with me. Also in many ways, we are our own worst critics. We lash out at ourselves for our own actions in ways we wouldn’t for someone else. Working on that tendency to lash out at yourself might be helpful, I’m still working on that myself.” Alecto’s voice was soothing, a good way to hold Marisol’s attention. Earlier she had avoided the bait of starting a fight from Lottie entirely, because of the girl before her. No one had ever impacted on her decision making quite this much, which was new for her. She shuffled in her seat, getting lost in her own thoughts.

_That’s likely why you don’t have many friends or people you can count on, and are so alone in general. You’re not used to caring this much about someone, and having that feeling be reciprocated. She’s the only person who’s been able to read you this well, you can’t hide from her, and surprisingly, you don’t want to. You want to tell her everything and know everything about her, but you’re still so scared of rejection from your last girlfriend. Heartbreak has made you cautious in giving out your heart._

“I wouldn’t tell him, I promise. You can trust me on that.” She nodded, maintaining eye contact with Alecto. _Who is Sophie, anyway? Her ex or something else, someone who got away maybe? You’ve heard that name before. The fact she relates and forgives you again is reassuring. You were shocked this morning when you figured out what she did, Hope obviously knew as she said nothing and nudged Alecto, her actions speaking louder than words. You keep expecting her to get annoyed at you, to lash out at you, but that’ll never be her style at all. She deserves to be genuinely happy for a change, but why do you struggle so much to see her with someone else? You can’t be jealous, right? You’ll always be just friends._

Marisol is taken from her thoughts by a hand rubbing the back of hers, and she looks back at Alecto, her cheeks flushing when she realised she’d entirely missed everything Alecto had said. She noticed how the other girl tilted her head to one side, giving her a quizzical look, much like an owl. 

“Um...can you repeat that please? I missed that entirely.” She felt herself trip over her words, the embarrassment about getting lost in her thoughts and being caught in the act got to her slightly, her words becoming soft and slightly shaky. _What’s happening to you? You never stutter! Just being around a pretty girl appears to be enough to bring you right back into the past, that awkward teenager you used to be._

“With pleasure. Thank you for making sure not to say anything to him, it’s seriously appreciated. I do hate having to explain this to him, but sometimes in life, things aren’t always nice and pretty. The hard spots are necessary, as without them we would have no idea about the nicer parts of life. I appear to be philosophising and rambling at random, so feel free to ask me to stop.” Alecto explained, her eyes twinkling. She pushed her glasses up her nose. _But what if I don’t want you to stop? What if I want, desperately, for you to continue? What if hearing you talk is interesting to me?_

  
  


Without Marisol even realising, Alecto let go of her hand and stood, making her way to the door. _That definitely went well._ She stood outside, scanning around to see where everyone was, and making her way to the kitchen. She made herself a cup of tea and sat by herself, wrapping her hands around her mug. Having peace, or time to herself was something that was so difficult in this place, she didn’t thrive off constant interaction like some of them appeared to. Despite the constant mess surrounding this place, she felt peaceful and calm. She hoped she could maintain this feeling for at least the rest of the day, she had become considerably fed up of becoming emotional so often. _You haven’t cried quite this much in years, since you lost the friendship of Andromeda and were only left with Étienne for a best friend who tricked you into dating him that exact year and when he grew fed up of you, he cheated on you with Annie of all people. Most people do get fed up being around you quickly, what makes Marisol, Lucas and Hope any different? Rocco gave up on you so quickly, he cheated too. The worst part of this situation is that he was flirting with all the girls, and Marisol was the only one sweet enough to trust him. Which means he wanted any of the girls apart from you, yet again you aren’t enough for someone. Taking the high road all the time may be hard, but he’ll leave tonight anyway, you hope. You can do it for another day._

She finished her drink, washing up her mug and putting it away. She walked slowly and carefully towards the daybeds first, to not aggravate her toe injury and because she was in no hurry to be around the ‘lovebirds’. _Getting being around Rocco while he’s with Marisol over and done with is likely the best option. Even though Lottie is being worse at this point._

She fiddled with her bracelet, coming to a gentle stop next to the daybeds, and waited for them to notice her. Marisol and Rocco are sprawled out side by side on the daybeds, giggling to each other. They compose themselves as Marisol makes eye contact with her and turns to whisper in Rocco’s ear, both of them looking back at her.

“Alecto!” Marisol gave her a wide grin, her dark chocolate brown eyes glinting in the sunshine. Rocco stifles another giggle and buries his face in Marisol’s hair. She grins at him. _Ouch. Looks like they’re definitely cracking on then. Seeing them like this is difficult to handle, but breathe in and out, and focus. It’ll be over soon enough._

She fiddled with a loose lock of hair, planning her words perfectly in her head.

“I’m glad you look happy.” Alecto didn’t try to force a smile, her words were soft due to using all her energy on pretending to be okay, but it was clear enough that her heart wasn’t in it, her eyes misty and far away. She looked at her hands, spinning her bracelet around her wrist to ground herself. 

“Thanks, Alecto.” Marisol blushes, she takes her hand off Rocco’s arm. “Does it look that bad?” her face fell, sadness back in her face. She looked directly at Alecto, stretching over and linking hands, trying to get the other girl to make eye contact with her. 

“W...well…” Alecto’s voice wavered, her gaze locked on her hands. She moved back, sliding her hand from Marisol’s grasp then taking a seat on the edge of the daybed, maintaining her distance.

“I took a risk cracking on with Rocco, but it was what I wanted. I committed myself to that decision. I need to see it through, no matter what comes of it.” Marisol explained, her expression turning neutral. _You do respect that, and understand her point. You’re far more forgiving of her anyway. Holding back your opinions on Rocco is difficult, but you’ve never been the type to trash someone to their face, and you won’t start now. You’ve experienced that yourself so wouldn’t put that on someone else. Despite how much of a shithead he’s being._

“Like how the captain goes down on the ship.” Rocco chipped in, grinning. Alecto was relieved to not be facing them, she was unable to hold back her eye roll, but bit her lip to stifle the laughter settling in her throat, releasing a soft smile instead.

“Almost, babe.” Marisol sighs. “I’m sorry if I’ve hurt you, hun. I really am. It’s just...this could be Rocco’s last day. So we should make the most of it and enjoy ourselves, right?” The warmth in her voice is clear, she rests a hand on Alecto’s shoulder, which Alecto lets rest there, not having the energy to shy away again. It was difficult to deny her skittish cat tendencies. She turned, moving further onto the bed and leaning into Marisol slightly, still focusing on her bracelet. _At least he makes her happy, but what if you could make her even happier? She deserves much better than a cheater, you both do. She deserves the world and all the nice things in it, and you wish you could package it up and hand it to her._

“I was just telling Marisol some of my stories.” Rocco tried to reach for Alecto’s hand, but she hissed and gave him an icy glare, causing him to back away with his hands up, retreating to his end of the bed. Her cheeks flushed slightly, the fact she had just hissed at him was a little embarrassing. _Be careful. No further with the anger, control it! Also hissing, really? Maybe you are really becoming a cat._

Marisol shook slightly with laughter, fiddling with Alecto’s hair then laughing affectionately at Rocco, a flirty smile growing on her face. 

“Yeah, except you make half of them up.” Marisol used a flirty tone on him, winking. Alecto felt a stirring of butterflies in her stomach, despite not being the intended recipient of the flirting. She felt herself becoming slightly light headed, and a dazed grin appeared on her face. She was snapped back into reality with Rocco’s voice.

“It’s not that I was lying...I love truth. So I stretched it a little, so there’d be more of it.” Alecto lifted one eyebrow at his lies, feeling the cold stare reappear. 

Marisol giggles, twirling her hair with her right hand.

“It’s OK. I like calling your bluff.” She turns back to look at Alecto, and pulls her a bit closer, giving her a grin. 

“Why don’t you stay here with us, Alecto?” Marisol’s eyes were softer in a way she hadn’t noticed before, she found herself able to pick out the changes in colour. She looks back at her hands, breaking the eye contact.

“Sure, I’ll stay. Only for a bit, to rest my toe. I can’t be on it for too long, otherwise I’ll likely tip over.” Alecto explained, mirroring Marisol’s grin for an instant and focusing on her. When Rocco tried for her attention, he just gained an icy glare again. Alecto stretched out her foot, flexing her toe and keeping her two feet separated so she wouldn’t aggravate her injury. _Marisol can thaw your heart of ice, that’s for sure._

“The more the merrier.” Marisol smiles, squeezing Alecto’s hand. She doesn’t pull away, feeling comfortable in the other girl’s warmth. _It’s nice to see her like this, she’s let her guard down entirely. She deserves to be happy, she’s more relaxed like this. Even if it’s at your expense._

Rocco opens his mouth to speak, but Marisol interrupts with a tut.

“Let me give Alecto a heads up.” Marisol leans in even closer and whispers in her ear, motioning for Rocco to look away. 

“Try and notice when he’s lying. I picked up a few tips from lawyer training. Look at his eyes. If he looks up and to the left, he’s lying. Oh, and a lot of liars give off subconscious clues, like shaking their heads or shrugging, so look out for that. All set?” Marisol’s close proximity to her caused her heart to beat even faster, her cheeks feeling hot. She was close to her before, but now they were so close, they could blend into one another.

“Uhm, sure…” Alecto bit her lip. _You do know a lot of lawyers. And you’re good at spotting liars and reading people well anyway._

Marisol lowers her hand and you both turn back to look at Rocco.

“So this one time, in Amsterdam, I met this guy...he had this great energy, and he was all like ‘Dude, come back to my houseboat’, so I did.” Rocco smiles fondly and sighs, shrugging his shoulders.

“This was at, like, 4:20 am. It was pretty cold, and there was a storm that night. Anyway, when I woke up,the boat had drifted to the middle of the canal and completely frozen in place!” he finished.

“What do you reckon, Alecto?” Marisol lifted an eyebrow.

“That’s way too much.” She gave Rocco a sceptical look.

“Yeah, I added some stuff to that one. The boat was only like a metre from the bank. And it happened in East London, not Amsterdam. Remember that storm, The Beast From The East?” Rocco asked.

“Yeah, totally. I can’t believe you were in a houseboat when that hit! Anyway, I guess knowing what didn’t happen is still learning _something,_ right?” Marisol gave him a knowing smile.

“You’re totally right. That’s so deep.” He looked at Marisol, impressed by her comment. _He looks at her like she hung the moon and the stars with her bare hands. You look at her like that too, but you’d hope you’re more loyal, which you clearly are. If you had her for a girlfriend, you’d care properly about her, not just because she was the only person to trust you trying your luck. You’d never cheat or use people though, so you’re nothing like Rocco._

“So, do you have any other stories?” Alecto tilted her head to the side, watching him carefully.

“Oh yeah, loads. This one’s a bit more local.” Rocco started off.

“More local than East London?” Alecto watched him carefully.

“I was meeting some friends in the Brecon Beacons in Wales for this hiking trip. But, like, I don’t live in Wales, obviously. I had to drive there in my van. So I popped ‘Wales’ into the sat nav.” Rocco pauses, looking up and to the right, frowning. _Uh oh, you can see exactly where this is going. You’re not a geographical whizz yourself, but even you know that putting in the Brecon Beacons would be better._

“I ended up in this village in South Yorkshire. Turns out there’s more than one Wales in England.” _In England? You’re so fed up with people mixing up Wales and England, you’ve even been to the Brecon Beacons multiple times. You went on a week long trip in primary school there too, there’s a lot of tourism and guesthouses to support it._

“In England? Wales is it’s own country! You’re literally talking to a Welsh person here!” She rolled her eyes, giving him an icy glare combined with ‘the eyebrow’, her words icy cold. He flinched slightly, moving backwards.

“Wales isn’t in England, babe. It’s a whole other country. Did you mean the United Kingdom?” Marisol chipped in. _She’s definitely less harsh on him than you were. Whoops, guess your snark is coming out. Poking that particular bear twice isn’t advised._

“Explains how you made it all the way to South Yorkshire without it ringing any alarm bells. As for whether it’s true or not, could easily be.” She smirked at him, the ice remaining in her gaze.

“Yeah, that one was true.” Rocco grinned. _Knew it! Got a winning streak here, you’re likely too competitive but it comes in handy._

“You melt. Alright, one more. Go.” Marisol grinned at him for an instant before her face relaxed into a neutral expression.

“Ok...so this one time, in Poland, I was driving between cities in my van... I didn’t realise how far apart everything was. Like, it’s a surprisingly big country, you know? I ended up running out of petrol and getting stranded in the middle of nowhere.” Rocco sighs and scratches an itch beneath his ear. “I was stuck there for a whole day before someone came along, living off nothing but halloumi.” Rocco finished.

“Wow. That’s insane.” Marisol stared at him in amazement. _Hmm. Just about weird enough to be true._

“You’re a survivor.” Her words had a slight hint of sarcasm, which neither of them picked up as they were looking into each other’s eyes again.

“Yeah, I guess I am.” Rocco grinned.

“Nothing but halloumi? For a whole _day?_ Poor baby.” Marisol looked at him with pity. _Oh, really? You’re pretty much ready to go, before you snap again. You’ve had a...rest, not sure if it would be classed as nice or not._

“I couldn’t even grill it!” Rocco looked miffed.

“Gotta say, I’m impressed. You only lied on one of those.” Marisol raised an eyebrow.

Rocco looks at Alecto. “You got all of them right, Alecto. You could be, like, better at psychology than Marisol.” _Oof. That’s going to hurt slightly. You’re just good at reading people, it’s a useful skill._

Marisol flinches a little, but Rocco doesn’t seem to notice. He turns back to look at her.

Alecto gently squeezed her hand, patting Marisol’s shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. Marisol looked up at her, cracks appearing in her mask of confidence and vulnerability showing for a moment. _Rocco doesn’t appear to be aware that he hurt her. That’s not good._

“I think you’ll like this next one, babe. So this one summer, I was staying in the Villa as part of a TV show, and I met this amazing girl...smart, beautiful, funny…” Rocco rolls over towards Marisol, their bodies overlapping. She giggles. _Seriously. In front of you, who he hurt with his antics? You don’t feel guilty for being cold with him now._

“I’ll...I’ll just leave you guys to it now.” Alecto’s voice shook, she let go of Marisol’s hand and sat up suddenly, moving quickly off the bed and finding her feet, leaving without a second glance. She was in a hurry, before she broke down in tears in front of them. She had no idea that Marisol looked away from Rocco in shock, and nearly went to follow her, but Alecto limped too quickly away.

She makes a beeline for the roof terrace, coming to a sudden stop when she finds Lucas with his back to her, staring out across the Spanish hills. The breeze whips at his hair.

“Hey...stranger. All alone?” She moved further forward, her lip wobbling with the effort of keeping tears back. Her toe hurt from how quickly she had moved.

Lucas turns around and smiles. He rubs the back of his neck, his arms flexing slightly. He looks at her with concern in his eyes, nearly moving to pull her into a hug.

“I’m not going to ask if you’re okay, as you’re clearly not. But if you want to talk about it, I’m here for you.” He gave her an uncertain smile.

She struggles to say anything past the bubble in her throat, her eyes filling with tears. She removes her glasses and looks up at him through teary eyes and he pulls her into a hug, letting her cry into his shoulder, being mindful of the glasses she was holding. He stroked her back and they stayed in that position for what felt like an eternity to Alecto. She felt safe in his arms, he gave off the same warm energy Marisol did. 

“I didn’t realise how intense it would be in here. Figured I’d come up here to get some air.” He let her go and she moved to stand beside him, leaning against the wall. Both the view and Lucas’ presence were enough to start to calm her racing heart. He reached over and wiped a tear from her cheek. The contact caused her cheeks to turn red, but she didn’t flinch from the contact. When his hand moved again her cheek appeared to vibrate where his fingers were, the presence of his hand clearly felt.

“Yeah, you’re telling me! Especially with the whole Rocco mess, it’s definitely messing with my head. Alone time is definitely appreciated in a place like this, I hope I didn’t disturb you.” She let out a shaky laugh, just about able to keep her voice stable. She looked up at him through her lashes and misty eyes. _Okay. So he enjoys being alone too, you’ve found a kindred spirit for sure._

“No, you didn’t. I enjoy spending time with you. It’s beautiful, isn’t it? I just love the Spanish landscape.” Lucas squeezed her hand, helping her maintain a calming presence.

“The view’s pretty great from here, too.” She winked at him, following her unexpected spark of confidence. _He makes you feel like you could take on the world, like you could escape from your awkward self for a little bit. And you’re actually flirting with him, wow! He causes you to actually feel rather confident within yourself._

“Smooth talker. I like a girl with confidence.” He winks, moving towards Alecto. 

“I was actually hoping we’d get some alone time together. And I realise that you probably wish it was Henrik staying instead of me. But would you stay here and chat a while?” Lucas’ expression dropped for an instant, and he shifted slightly. _Tell him the truth. You need to, so you’re not lying to him._

Alecto takes a seat next to him on the roof terrace, his arm resting on her shoulders.

“So you heard about that, huh? Which is fine, I didn’t really expect the other girls to keep that secret. Well, I was being tactical. I suspected that some of the girls weren’t entirely trustworthy, so I had a feeling that if I said I liked you, they’d stab me in the back by voting for you to leave. So I had to say I liked Henrik. I didn’t want to throw him under the bus, it felt so selfish. But my suspicions were completely right. I hope that makes sense, I wanted to tell you myself, and to tell Henrik at the end of the day, so I don’t spoil what could possibly be his last day.” Alecto explained, looking up at Lucas and watching him for his expression. She tapped her nose, finding it difficult to keep her hands still. _Hopefully he’ll get it. He seems understanding so far though._

“I understand, and Henrik will too. I wanted to check about that, so we were on the same page. I’ve felt that we have quite a connection, and I hope I’m not overstepping here. That is reassuring to know though.” Lucas nodded, offering her a smile. He noticed her tap her nose and wondered what that was about.

“I was certain Lottie wouldn’t vote for Henrik to leave, and that myself and Hope wouldn’t vote for you to leave. Which takes some uncertainty out of the vote itself. I also voted for you as most likely to leave with a girlfriend. At risk of sounding mushy here, I care about you more than I’ve cared about anyone before, in terms of love and relationships, that is. I’ve only cared about Sophie this much before, who’s my ex girlfriend and we were together for 5 years.” She started to explain her thought process, twirling a lock of hair around her finger. She puts her glasses back on again, and everything becomes clearer. She noticed his eyes light up when she referenced using her high vote on him, and her lips settled into a warm smile. _He looks pleased with that, that’s good and a relief. He’s not overstepping in the slightest either._

“You voted for me as most likely to leave with a girlfriend, and you care about me more than you’ve cared about anyone, apart from your ex girlfriend Sophie? Just clarifying here.” Lucas said, returning her smile. His eyes sparkled slightly, and she felt hypnotised by his dark brown eyes, getting lost in the deep colour.

She nodded, before continuing. “As for Marisol and Priya, both of them were acting weird, they kept shifting and Marisol wasn’t making eye contact. I knew Marisol would do anything to save Rocco, she really cared about him. I don’t know how, considering how he had already proven himself to be unfaithful and a cheater, and only chose her because she was sweet enough to be drawn in by him. She’s so smart, but in matters of the heart sometimes your heart takes control entirely. That I can understand a little bit. Anyway, before I get too absorbed in being a cornball. Uh oh. Just lost track of my train of thought, hang on.” She blushed, trying to get her thoughts in order.

“Marisol probably thought with her heart and not her head, which meant saving Rocco at all costs. While Priya, we’re not close in the slightest and it’s still a competition. She has one of the only stable and intact couples currently, so likely doesn’t want more competition, which I kind of get. So I realised quickly that if I said I preferred Henrik, both of them would instantly flip their opinions to wanting you to stay along with Hope. I’m so lucky that Hope and Lottie didn’t blow my cover, but it completely worked! Part of the reason for that was likely the fact I put on a confident air and made my voice as warm as possible, even though I felt the opposite. My suspicions were right too, as both of them voted for Henrik. I’ve talked to Hope, Lottie and Marisol about it, so I was completely right in who voted for who. So that’s all of it.” She finished, tapping her hand on the seat and crossing her legs. She looked up at him again, waiting for his response.

“Impressive. Your talents with reading people and picking up everything that was happening have served you well. Well, this might sound weird, I feel like I know you quite well already from the show...going by what I’ve seen, it seems like you put the happiness of the group first. You’re observant also and you’re not the loudest of people. You’re a wallflower, you’re quiet until you’re one on one with someone you care about. You’re fiercely loyal to your friends, which is something I respect. Despite being quiet, you’re still noticeable, and don’t let yourself fade. But you don’t know me at all! Is there anything you’d like to ask me?” he asked. _Oh sugar. Questions on the spot. And that was an accurate description of you, you’re impressed. There’s still a lot of stuff no one knows about you though._

“Thanks for putting me on the spot! Let me think of one, hang on.” she tapped her chin, deep in thought.

“Dogs or cats?” she tilted her head to the side, trying to work out which he’d likely favour. _Hopefully he’s a cat person. Otherwise Sadie won’t be happy, that’s for sure._

“A little random, but I get the feeling this one’s important to you. It’s definitely cats, for me. I love how independent they are. You both do your own thing and everyone’s happy. What else do you want to know?” Lucas asked. _Yes! Excellent, your people reading skills haven’t failed you yet._

“Yess! Yay, I have a black cat called Sadie. She’s very picky about the people she likes too, Sophie is cat sitting for me currently. People do find it strange that I’m still friends with my ex, but we were best friends first, and neither of us wanted to give that up.” Alecto grinned and pulled Lucas into an unexpected hug, him just going with it. She felt her glasses squish into her face with the close proximity of the two of them. _Wow, he’s tall! That’s definitely a curse of being as short as you are._

She lets go again, looking up at him through her fringe, which had slipped in front of her eyes. She pushed it back. “One wasn’t enough? Let’s see...most embarrassing moment?”

Lucas laughs nervously.

“I can’t get out of this, can I? I was walking back to my car after a date with this girl. But there was this jacked-up motorbike parked next to it, and the girl got the wrong idea. She asked for a ride home, and, well...she seemed like she’d be disappointed if I told her it wasn’t mine. I lied and said I didn’t have a spare helmet, then spent the next 6 weeks pretending I rode a motorbike. In the end, I just went ‘yolo’ and bought one.” Lucas turns and grins at her.

“I’m enjoying this! Go on, ask me one more.” 

“What’s your star sign?” Alecto had a think, finding something that wasn’t just small talk.

“That stuff isn’t really my thing. But I knew a girl once who really liked it. She said I was a Leo, whatever that means. But she did teach me a thing or two. Apparently you need at least one Libra at every party. And if Venus is in Taurus, you’re in trouble.” Lucas sighs, grinning at her.

“I’m a Virgo by the way. I am interested in it, but I don’t judge people based off their star sign, like some people I’ve seen do.” She offered up.

“That was a lot of fun. I feel like we’re more even now.” Lucas leans his head back and closes his eyes, clearly enjoying the sun’s heat against his skin. Lucas turns to look at her. Only then does Alecto realise how close his face is to hers. _Test the spark. Let’s see, why not._

She takes his face in her hands and kisses him. It’s brief but sweet. He smiles as he pulls away. There’s a smudge of her lipstick around his mouth.

“That was nice.” Lucas sounded a bit dazed, giving her a wide grin.

“I’ll see you around.” Alecto leaves him as she finds him, staring out across the Spanish hills. _Now that’s what a proper rest feels like! Now for Lottie, oh great._

Alecto walks up to Lottie, Priya, Ibrahim and Gary, all sitting on bean bags on the lawn. Priya shields her eyes with her palm as she looks up at Alecto.

“Alright, hun?” Priya smiles up at her.

Alecto pulls up a spare bean bag and throws herself into it.

“It’s so humid out today!” Alecto fanned herself with her hand, the small draft of air she created having no impact.

“Yeah, you should see Rocco’s hair.” Lottie said, grinning.

Alecto follows her gaze over to where Rocco and Marisol are lying on the day beds. They are smiling and laughing together. Rocco has his hand on her arm.

_She’s going to start shit soon, that grin looks suspicious._

“The animals are all in heat. I don’t know why you bothered talking to them just now, Alecto.” Lottie looked at her, hardening her eyes. _Not this, again. Guess she still hasn’t given up her childish ways._

“You’d think Rocco wasn’t going up against a public vote tonight.” Priya chimed in. _What about Rahim, who’s right next to her? Slightly insensitive._

“I’d rather you didn’t remind me about that.” Ibrahim gives her a pointed look. Priya’s eyes widen.

“Oh! Sorry babes, I didn’t think.” Priya’s face drops as it dawns on her.

Ibrahim shakes his head.

“I thought you girls would all be done with Rocco after everything came out. But look at them. Marisol’s loving life. Can’t get my head around it.” Ibrahim said. _That’s a polite way of phrasing it, which you respect._

“I guess he just knows what women want to hear.” Priya said, her expression neutral.

“Please. He knows nothing.” Lottie spat out, glaring furiously. A clear bite was present on her tone, and Alecto blinked, flinching back slightly.

“I just spoke to Marisol.” Alecto cut in quickly.

“And?” Lottie tapped her wrist, moving forward in her seat.

“They...honestly really like each other. They’re...acting all coupley because it could be Rocco’s last day and Marisol wants to make the most of it. She also said it was important to her that she sticks by her decision to crack on with him, even if it doesn’t pay off. Something about captains and ships…”Alecto explained, feeling her voice crack slightly and winced. _Talking about this is hard, but you owe it to Marisol. You hate gossip, so will tell the truth no matter what._

Lottie hesitates, Priya smiles at Alecto.

“I just don’t like it when it’s in my face. Look at them. It’s literally like a nature show.” Lottie grumbled. _In her face? She’s been coupled up with Bobby. Oh for goodness sake!_

“In _your_ face? Really, Lottie.” Alecto rolled her eyes, sarcasm dripping from her lips. Lottie scowled, and Priya shook her head in Lottie’s direction, hinting with her eyes to drop it.

“Not this again. Alecto does have a point here, you’re acting like it’s you who Rocco cheated on, yet it wasn’t.” Priya said, clearly fed up with Lottie’s childish nature. To her surprise, Priya reached out for Alecto’s hand, squeezing it and keeping their hands linked. Alecto looked up at Priya, squeezing her hand back in thanks. _You’re not flinching away. That’s a surprise, but not at the same time, as you’ve found yourself an ally in Priya._

Gary sits up, putting on his best David Attenborough impression.

“‘The heart of the Villa, home to some of the world’s most thirsty wildlife. And it’s mating season.’” He nods towards Rocco. “‘This is the Roccous Maximus, or Rocco, on the hunt for a female to mother the next generation of Roccos.’” Across the lawn, Rocco stretches out an arm and threads it under Marisol, lying on her side next to him. She starts plaiting a strand of his hair.

“‘To mesmerise his chosen mate, the Rocco displays his large… curly plumage.’” Gary smirked. _This is cruel. Not funny in the slightest._

“I was gonna say.” Lottie looked enamoured with the whole scenario. 

“‘If sufficiently impressed, the female will use this hair to build her nest.’” Gary continued.

Marisol lets go of Rocco’s braid and rolls off the daybed to refill her water bottle, leaving him on his own. Gary turns back to Lottie with a sombre expression.

“‘Disappointment.’”

Lottie laughs, rocking back on her bean bag.

“I’m creased. That’s so funny. I don’t know if even Bobby could top that.” Lottie grinned.

Priya sighs.

“Isn’t this going a bit far? Doing impressions...it’s kinda petty.” Priya said, her sad expression remaining. She squeezed Alecto’s hand. _Yeah, exactly._

“That’s easy to say when you’re not involved.” Gary defended himself. _Sure, he’s involved but Lottie’s not! She keeps stirring the pot._

“Yeah, it’s not nice. Even if Rocco leaves, we still have to live with Marisol. Also Lottie’s not involved, yet bringing herself into this situation. It’s cruel, doing impressions and mocking people. They did hurt me, but I’d never stoop to their level.” Alecto bit her lip, her voice softer than usual. She hoped her point would come across without her needing to fully snap at Lottie. Lottie’s green eyes glinted with anger, but she miraculously remained quiet.

“Alecto’s got a point, guys. And she has more reason to feel hurt than anyone. How about we all just talk about something else?” Priya said, putting her arm around Alecto’s shoulders, and she moved closer to Alecto. 

Alecto tilted her head in Priya’s direction. “What about you? How are you and Rahim doing?” She asked, keeping her voice light and airy, giving her a soft smile.

“Well, it’s early days, and I can’t really speak for Rahim... but I’m pretty happy with how things are working out so far.” Priya licked her lips, sending Rahim a flirty look. She squeezed Alecto’s hand in thanks.

“Yeah, I think we could give it a good run. Assuming I get to stay, at least.” Rahim returned the flirty look for an instant.

“Please. You’ll turn into Hope and Noah.” Lottie grinned.

“Is that such a bad thing?” Priya said.

“Just saying, I’m surprised they don’t have five kids and a mortgage already.” Lottie said.

Alecto closed her eyes, feeling herself zone out slightly, eventually deciding to leave them to it. She went back to the kitchen to have some alone time. _Phew. That could have been way worse, but at least Priya is on your side for once._


	23. Chapter 23

Alecto arrives at the Challenge Stage with the other Islanders. The horizon seems to fizzle in the heat. A semi-circle of tables surround a scoreboard and a pile of facedown cards. Each table has two seats and its own small chalkboard. Bobby comes up beside her and lays his head on Alecto’s shoulder.

“Phew! All that running in slow motion really wipes me out.” Bobby’s head remained on her shoulder until Alecto moved slightly to the side, and sent him a glare. Due to him sneaking up on her, she was unable to predict him deciding to use her shoulder for a pillow. He backed off, making even more of a gap between them.

“But we were running normally…” She gave him a sceptical look. _What an odd comment. Mind you, you’re the queen of weird but even so, you’re not quite that weird!_

“That’s what you think.” Bobby cocks his head, getting a better look at her. She froze under his stare, her eyes dropping to the floor. _He’s definitely making you feel slightly uncomfortable here. Has Lottie told him the truth? Or are you being super paranoid, again? It would be interesting if she did, she has spent so long dodging the subject around you, and pretty much hinting to keep your mouth shut. Do you want the truth to be known, it’s so difficult to keep it in._

A phone beeps.

“Guys, I’ve got a text!” Lottie calls out.

“Let me see! Let me see!” Hope moved in Lottie’s direction, trying to catch a glimpse of her phone.

The Islanders gather around.

“Islanders, it’s time for some Twitter Bingo. Lottie and Bobby will take turns reading tweets from the public about goings-on around the Villa, but the names will be blanked out. The couple with the most correct answers will win the challenge.” Lottie read out, looking up from her phone and locking eyes with Alecto for what felt like much longer than the minute it likely was. _Uh oh. That definitely has a chance of stirring the pot further. Along with the Lottie kiss, that might be referenced. She’s still being so weird._

“I’m literally so hyped for this one!” Priya grinned.

“Oh my days, same here. This is, like, our first real glimpse of what the public thinks of us.” Hope agreed.

A few of the Islanders exchange looks.

“I wonder what the public knows…” Alecto bit her lip, twisting her hands together.

“Oh, I imagine there’s a lot they’ve seen that we haven’t. Private, juicy, secret stuff. Anyone got any dirty laundry they’d like to air before we get started? You know, before we all find out through the challenge anyway…” Bobby scanned around the group of Islanders, his eyes appearing to stop on Alecto for longer than the others. _You must be imagining things, right?_

She held his gaze with a neutral expression while staying as natural as possible. He was the first to look away, and she released the breath she was holding.

The impromptu staring contest had caused her to miss some of the conversation, and she tunes in again when she hears Lucas’ voice. _You’re that drawn to him, huh?_

“Ever seen those celebrity mean tweets? Absolutely savage.” Lucas nudges Gary with his elbow.

Lottie walks up beside Lucas, nodding towards Henrik.

“Looks like you guys are an honorary couple for the challenge.” Lottie smiled slightly.

Lucas and Henrik glance at each other, grinning. 

“I could do a lot worse.” Lucas said.

“Mate, you’re prettier than most girls!” Henrik replied. _Their friendship is cute, it’s a good sign that they’re both up for it. They did arrive together, so probably that makes their bond stronger._

Lottie and Bobby take their places in front of the scoreboard while the rest of the Islanders sit at the tables in their couples. Alecto takes a seat next to Rocco, their legs touching beneath the table. He draws a smiley face and a heart on the chalkboard and grins at her. She gives him a wary look, clamping her lips shut to prevent herself snapping at him. 

“Are you nervous?” She asked, trying to remain cordial.

“I don’t think there’s anything you guys don’t know about. So am I nervous? Nah, I’m not. Actually, I’m pretty excited. How about you?” He flashed her a quick grin.

“Yeah, a little. It’s like when you walk past a bouncer at a club. You always feel like you’ve done something.” she twisted her hands together, clutching onto her bracelet. _Well, you’re not innocent yourself. This could quite easily explode out of proportion._

“Yeah, I get that.” Rocco nodded.

Lottie clears her throat. She’s standing beside the scoreboard holding a large piece of card. Her eyes make eye contact with Alecto’s as she looks up, the emotions clear in her vibrant green eyes. To everyone else, Lottie appears entirely calm, but Alecto can see plain as day the emotional turmoil raging inside her.

The Islanders hush each other and giggle in anticipation.

“Alright you lot, let’s get this rolling. Chalk at the ready! Here’s your first tweet…” Lottie holds up the card for everyone to see.

 _That guy______’s like the one jar of pickles in your nan’s cupboard that just won’t open up_ . Alecto read to herself, tapping her chin in thought. _Surely Rahim, he’s awkward and struggles socially. Let your competitive spirit free!_

“Oh my days, that’s incredible! You’re always on about your nan, Gary.” Priya grinned.

“Nah, I’m a proper open book. My bet’s on Noah. Or one of the new lads.” Gary replied. 

“Well, it’s not me.” Rocco defends himself. _You agree there._

“We figured that one, mate. You’re always off on one about your travel stories.” Gary pointed out.

Bobby opens his mouth to say something, but Gary cuts him off.

“Don’t get me started on you, toe boy.” Gary grinned at him.

Alecto turns to Rocco, fiddling with the chalk nub, struggling to keep her hands still.

“I mean, it could be a couple of people, couldn’t it? Noah’s an obvious choice. Or Rahim. I know Gary mentioned Henrik and Lucas, but it’s more that we’ve just not had that much time with them.” Rocco moves closer to her ear, keeping his voice low. 

Alecto glances over at the new boys. Lucas is drawing something nose-shaped on the chalkboard while Henrik laughs. 

“You can do the honours.” Rocco gestures to the board.

Alecto writes Rahim’s name with neat handwriting, preferring neat rounded lettering to cursive or what she referred to as ‘chicken scratch’ which her own cursive writing fell under. She holds up the board, and scans around at the other boards. All have ‘Rahim’ in white chalk.

“All in agreement then?” Marisol asked, causing multiple nods.

Lottie peels a sticker off the board, revealing the answer to be Rahim. Alecto smirked at the reveal, finding it difficult to not punch her fist in the air.

“That’s epic.” Henrik said.

Lottie marks the scoreboard. 

“You all got that one right, so all of you get the point.” she said.

Ibrahim slumps his shoulders.

“I knew this was why I was in the bottom three.” he curled in on himself.

“You do kind of look like a pickle.” Alecto put her finger on her chin, studying Rahim with a careful glance. _Perfect, use your weirdness to cheer him up. He has had a rough time of it._

“What? But that’s not even…” Henrik trails off, slightly gobsmacked. Ibrahim is the first to laugh. 

“Fair play, Alecto. Fair play.” he grinned, the smile reaching his eyes.

“Marks for originality?” Bobby asked Lottie, who had clamped her lips together in thought.

Alecto finds herself studying the pair before her, the rest of the conversation fading.

“Erm guys, do you want to see the next tweet or what? It’s, err, pretty loaded.” Bobby looked shifty.

“Bring it on! Woo!” Priya cheered.

_You can do better than him, _____ <3 _

The Islanders stare at the card in silence. Lottie muffles a gasp. _Maybe you? After all this Rocco crap. You have been very lenient, so why not let him have it, just this once?_

“That’s, err....intense. But it’s not me, in any case. Noah’s been a total sweetheart since we coupled up.” Hope grinned.

“Yeah, if anything I’m punching above my weight with Ibrahim, so I’m out.” Priya winks at Rahim. He laughs and pulls her in for a hug, kissing her on the forehead.

“Don’t be silly. You’re a solid 10/10, babe. And so’s your vision!” He’s met with blank stares. Ibrahim’s grin fades, and he blushes.

“You know...like 20/20 vision? But you only have 10/10 because you can’t see how beautiful you are?” Rahim finished. _Aww. They’re really cute together._

“That’s...actually really sweet.” Priya wiped away a tear and gave him a sweet smile.

Alecto leans over to confer with Rocco.

“Maybe you should get this one, too. I’d just feel bad ragging on one of my boys like that.” Rocco pushes the board and chalk over to her.

_There’s no doubt in your mind that you do deserve better. It might not be the answer on the scoreboard, but anything’s better than a cheater. Especially Lucas. You can give up one point for the satisfaction here._

Alecto tilts the board towards her, hiding her answer as she writes her name and holds it up, looking around at the others. ‘Alecto’ is written on a few chalkboards, but most say ‘Marisol’. Henrik is gawking at her.

“Wait, you wrote your own name? With Rocco sitting right beside you? That means you think you deserve better than him, right?” Henrik asked, looking surprised. _You’ve been holding yourself back for a while now, and if he’s disappointed, then tough. You can only take the high road for so long._

“Err, Captain Obvious over here. I’d say it was earned, given what happened.” Lucas made direct eye contact with her, winking and sending her a smile as they held each other’s gaze. When Alecto looks away finally, her cheeks feel warm and she knows they’re turning bright red. _Something about Lucas makes you lose control, and you like that about him. At least he doesn’t judge you and appears to respect your boldness there. Surprisingly, you’re not actually guilty about it in the slightest. Rocco deserves it, right? Or are you letting yourself turn into Lottie?_

Rocco’s cheeks grow pink. He keeps his eyes on the chalk, refusing to look at anybody.

“Well, this is awkward…” Lottie worries her bottom lip with her finger. _Does she judge you for it too, considering how she’s been recently? Hypocritical much._

“What was the answer?” Marisol asked, trying to remain nonplussed. She looks everywhere but at Alecto. _Oh. Maybe you did the wrong thing. Why does Marisol being hurt have more of an impact than your own feelings?_

Bobby peels the sticker off the card in his hands and marks the scoreboard.

“Oh. Err…” Marisol shifts in her seat, her eyes staring at the table. 

“That’s one point to Noah and Hope and Priya and Ibrahim.” Bobby said.

“Hold on a minute. Marisol can do better than who?” Gary looked miffed. 

“You, obviously. You guys are coupled up.” Rocco breaks out of his silence to throw a remark Gary’s way.

“Only because we’ve not had a recoupling since you guys started unofficially cracking on.” Gary jabs a finger at Rocco. “And everyone here knows it wasn’t just her you were grafting on, either.” They glare angrily at each other. 

“Chill out, both of you! We’re having fun, so stop making a scene.” The ice in her tone combined with her fierce glare startles both of them into silence, staring at her with open mouths. She’s usually so softly spoken so any change in tone is automatically noticeable. _Good job! Tackled before it properly kicked off. And no tears, yet, anyway._

“Well said. Remember this is a challenge, guys. Let’s keep things light. I wanna know what the other tweets say.” Hope winks at her, looking impressed at how Alecto stopped the argument.

Alecto’s expression falls back into neutrality, her icy glare thawing. 

Lottie glances down at the card in her hands before she shows everyone. She purses her lips.

_____ treating ____ like crap, yeah he was a tool but acting like a cow about it makes you just as bad darling xoxo_

Bobby whistles.

“They’ve got a point, ladies.” Bobby said.

Rocco leans over to Alecto.

“This one’s definitely about me. As for the other person...Lottie’s been kind of gunning for me the last few days. Not that what happened has anything to do with her...the only other Islanders who fit the bill would be Marisol and Gary. Maybe. What do you reckon?” Rocco asks. _No shit Sherlock. It’s Lottie and Rocco. You could cut her some slack though, and write your own name to prevent an argument? Maybe that will soften her up a little bit._

Alecto writes her name next to Rocco’s on the chalkboard and holds it up. Bobby raises his eyebrows.

“You put your own name? That takes some guts, not gonna lie.” Bobby grinned at her.

“Yeah, I’ve got a lot of respect for that.” Lucas agreed, making eye contact with her.

Lottie’s eyes brightened slightly when reading Alecto’s board, a gentle smile crossing her lips for a brief moment, until she noticed the other boards. Lottie’s angry glare is fixed on everyone apart from Alecto. Most people have written Lottie’s name alongside Rocco’s, though nobody seems keen to draw attention to themselves. Hope hides behind her hand while she mouths something to Priya. _Okay, progress at least. Following her example is hardly sorting this out. It’s clear anyway that she can tell your intentions are good here, that you don’t want to hurt her. Even though you know the truth._

“Just because I had the guts to say what all of you were thinking.” Lottie snapped, her eyes narrowing. The anger in her voice unsettles Alecto, her hand gripping tight to her bracelet and biting her lip hard. _Don’t cry. Not yet, anyway. When you’re alone, you can._

“I don’t know if that’s true, hun. Like, maybe to start with, but don’t you think you took it a bit far? I hate saying it, but it was never really your business, was it?” Priya watched Alecto carefully, giving her a hint to be truthful.

Alecto coughs, trying to shift her dry throat and the lump in it. The silence held for what felt so much longer and it suffocated her. 

_You can’t do it. You can’t risk her flipping at you. Maybe she wasn’t doing it selfishly? Maybe you’re too harsh on her and she did it out of the kindness of her heart? That’s how you’re forcing yourself to agree with your statement now, anyway._

“L...Lottie’s had...my back. She’s...just being a good friend by... sticking up for me.” She stutters, her voice barely audible and very shaky. She lets her hair fall in front of her face, dipping her head. If she had been looking up at that moment, she would have noticed Lottie’s eyes softening for an instant, blink and you’d miss it. 

“Sorry hun. I know he messed you around. But this has gone beyond her sticking up for you.” Priya snapped, her tone going from steady to harsh quickly, causing Alecto to shake slightly. She grabbed hold of a lock of hair and wound it around her finger as tight as she could, pulling to ground herself and not float off.

“I’m literally right here, you know.” Lottie snapped back, turning blazing eyes on Priya. Alecto stares at the chunk of hair around her finger until her eyes go blurry and she loses focus. _You’re too exhausted to sort this, someone else be peaceful for a change!_

“Girls! Let’s drop it. What was the answer, Lottie?” Hope breaks in, giving Alecto a concerned look. She pushes her hair out of her way, and gives Hope a wobbly smile, turning back to the front and forcing herself to push her emotions to the side. 

Lottie huffs and peels off the sticker, revealing the full tweet. Lottie blushes, hiding behind her hair.

“Well, turns out all of you get a point… except Alecto and Rocco.” Lottie looks past her curtain of hair, her eyes softening when she focuses on Alecto. _Your lie might have helped, at least a little._

Lottie reluctantly marks the scoreboard as Bobby picks up the next tweet. He raises his eyebrows before showing everyone.

“What does it say?” Marisol tapped her table with nervous energy.

______ get out of there babe she’s just playing you to get to the finale!!_

“I assume this one’s not about you?” Rocco asked.

“Me?!” She sent him an icy glare, and he flinched.

“Okay, let’s rule out you and Lottie then.”

Alecto stared into space, until Rocco nudged her. Without listening, she wrote Noah.

Rocco nods. “That feels so weird to even think about.” _Twitter can be awful in this way. So it’s about playing the game._

Alecto sighs and holds up her board

Hope gasps and looks hurt. “Alecto!”

She floats away until the answer is revealed and everyone turns to Hope and Noah. They’re both wide-eyed and pale.

“Come on guys, it’s obviously just the opinion of some jealous nobody. The public only sees bits of what actually happens in here. It’s not like they know the full story.” Hope pointed out.

“You guys are the real deal. If you get to the finale, it’s because you deserve it. As the public only gets a snapshot, it makes sense they’d assume that one of the stable couples is fake. I went for the most outrageous idea possible, it’s not like I believe that. Twitter’s famous for starting drama, anyway.” She gave Hope a warm smile, relieved at how she bought the explanation and the warm smile returned to Hope’s face. _Phew! One fire stopped._

“Thanks for saying that, Alecto.” Hope said.

Noah lays a hand on top of Hope’s.

“I trust you, babe. You don’t have to defend yourself.”

“Erm, Alecto and Rocco get the point.” Bobby cuts in.

Lucas tilts back on his chair.

“This challenge is wild.” Lucas said.

“We’re actually in with a chance of winning, too! Buzzing to find out what the prize is.” Henrik grinned, looking like an excited puppy.

“You’ve got this, boo. Dream team right here.” Lucas nudged Henrik. _The friendship between them warms your heart, the fact they’re allowing themselves to be close without fear of judgment is good._

Lottie picks up the next card, she holds it up for everyone to see.

_I swear_____ comments on everything that happens one way or another even if it has nothing to do with her._

Alecto bit her lip, messing with the ends of her hair. _This one is you. You’re sure of it. Which isn’t your fault, you get landed with the peacemaker role despite being scared of your own shadow._

“That could apply to a lot of people in here, although the tweet said ‘her’, so...the only girl I’d probably rule out is Hope. She seems to try and mellow you all out more than anything. Priya, too.” Rocco chipped in, studying her. 

“Really?!” Alecto’s voice turns barely audible, and she winces. 

Rocco looks about to explain, but stops short, eyeing her with an amused expression.

“Why’d you ask? You got an _opinion_ on the matter?” He appears proud of his ‘oh, soo funny’ joke.

“Har har.” She recovers her composure, laughing coldly at him. “I suppose it could be about me…” her voice trails off, she drops eye contact with him. 

“At least you’re self-aware. Let’s put your name down and see what happens.” Rocco grabs the chalk, writes her name and holds it up. The other Islanders seem torn between her, Marisol and Lottie. 

“Basically all the girls except me and Hope then? Who was it, Lottie?” Priya asked, looking interested.

Lottie peels away the sticker, and Alecto feels the other Islanders’ eyes on her for a response. 

“That...that tweet was bang on...Don’t you guys...ever get that? It’s like whenever something happens in here...I literally can’t go on with life until I’ve said how I feel about it…” her voice keeps wavering as she speaks, pretending entirely that she’s fine and that nothing’s wrong but feeling herself break inside. She catches eyes with Gary, who grins at her and she looks away, staring at her hands on the table. Tears burn in the backs of her eyes and she ducks her head, making herself smaller than she already was. She gives up all pretence of being okay, biting her lip and releasing slow, silent tears, her mask shattering into tiny pieces. 

Alecto feels three pairs of eyes on her back and turns to notice Lucas, Marisol and Hope watching her with identical looks of concern on their faces. She notices how neither Marisol or Hope voted for her; Hope voted for Marisol while Marisol voted for Lottie. _Interesting. That does mean something to you. You don’t take offence at Lucas voting for you, it’s only a game, right? He deserves to win with Henrik so Henrik can leave on a high note. But you’re not the type to involve yourself in everything normally, you’ve been designated the role of peacemaker due to being calmer and more level headed, despite being absolutely shit at it._

Lottie marks the scores on the board.

“The point goes to Priya and Ibrahim, Lucas and Henrik...and Alecto and Rocco.” she grins.

Henrik and Lucas high five.

“Bring on the next one.” Lucas grinned.

“Here it is…”

_____ is blates just here for the moment he can get his guitar out and play ‘Wonderwall’_

A few of the Islanders titter to themselves as they set to work with their chalk. Rocco frowns and leans over the table, stroking his chin.

“Maybe Henrik for this one? I dunno, I just get that kinda vibe from him.” 

Alecto nicks the chalk from Rocco, writes his name and holds it up. Every single other card says ‘Rocco’. He huffs and folds his arms.

“It’s a ukulele. And I didn’t even bring it with me!” Rocco grumbles.

“Was the mean tweet mean to you?” Alecto pulls back some of her composure, her words dripping with sarcasm as she smirks at him, before faking surprise, gasping and opening her mouth wide. Tears still trail their way down her cheeks, but she leaves them there. Her eyes spark dangerously underneath the teary shine, and she hears laughter from the direction of the scoreboard, catching Lottie’s eyes, who winked at her.

Rocco scowls at her, but she doesn’t allow herself to be intimidated.

“Come on guys, there’s still two more to go! I wanna know what the public said about me. Oh, hang on. I’m on scores…” Bobby counts on his fingers before marking the scoreboard. 

“Everyone gets a point.”

Lottie picks up a card.

“Only two left, guys!” she smirked.

“Woo!” Priya cheered.

_Calling it now, _____ is the biggest player on this year’s Love Island, even more than Rocco._

Alecto tunes out the discussion surrounding the tweet entirely, even ignoring Rocco. On autopilot, she writes down Bobby’s name and holds it up. The other Islanders hold up their cards. Marisol and Gary voted for Gary, like most of the others who are tied between Lucas and Gary. Lottie peels away the sticker.

The Islanders all turn to look at Bobby. He steeples his fingers and grins. “Mwahahaha!” he releases an evil laugh, looking for all intents and purposes like something evil.

“Is it true?” Priya raises an eyebrow at him.

“Who knows? Tune in next time for the big reveal.” He taps his nose. _He’s friends with all of the girls, which could be the reason behind this rumour. Like boys and girls can’t be friends without anything else behind it. That was part of the reason that Étienne ended up tricking you into dating him, he got influenced by the rumours, despite using you himself._

Alecto’s attention turns back to the game as Lottie goes to pass Bobby the last card. She hesitates. Bobby tries to take it, but Lottie keeps it out of his reach.

“That’s it, guys. Time to go.” Lottie’s expression falls. _Oh shit. It’s about the kiss, isn’t it? But the pressure of holding this in hurts, you’re going to explode._

“But the-” Bobby protests.

“I said we’re done.” Lottie snaps, giving him a knowing look.

The Islanders exchange frowns.

“Didn’t you just say there was one more left over?” Marisol eyes Lottie, raising her eyebrow. _Hopefully she won’t hate you over this. You’ve been so understanding during Roccosol gate, please don’t have your secret be the thing to turn Marisol away from you._

“I heard that, too.” Alecto’s voice is so quiet no one can hear her, aside from Rocco. She puts down the chalk, clasping her hands together and leaning her chin on top.

No one asks her to repeat, they’re all too focused on Lottie. _You’re a ghost once again. Maybe you can finally vanish into a puff of smoke when this has been revealed. Get real, they won’t care you’ve even gone._

“I’ve read the tweet. It’s boring, so we’re skipping it. Game over.” Lottie shifted from foot to foot, her words running together.

“That’s not fair. We’re just having a good time, right guys? And it’s the last one! Best until last, I always say.” Hope grinned.

“Come on, Lotters. Don’t spoil the fun.” Bobby protests.

“She said it’s over, mate.” Gary cuts in. _Wait. Did she tell him? That’s suspicious._

“Come on, you have to show us!” Alecto feels a spark of confidence grow inside her. Lottie looks away from her, shifting on the spot. The confidence Lottie usually held has left her, leaving her vulnerable. _You can’t hold it in forever. She must know that, right?_

Bobby takes the card out of Lottie’s hands. 

“I told you it was boring, but whatever. See you in the Villa.” Lottie shrugs and starts walking back in the direction of the Villa. 

“Woah.” Bobby stared after her.

“Err, is she actually going? What was that even about?” Priya asked, looking confused.

“There’s only one way to find out. Show us the tweet.” Henrik said.

“Dude, you sound like you’re in a movie.” Lucas replied. Henrik winks at him. “You know it, babycakes.”

“OK but seriously, show us the tweet.” Hope said.

Bobby turns the card around.

_Lottie is clearly taking advantage of the Rocco situation, despite doing the same herself with ____ and taking it out on ____. Hypocritical, much. If Girl Code means kissing her best friend, she has the right idea._

Alecto has to read the tweet twice, before it sinks in fully. Her breath catches in her throat and her heart is racing.

“Oh. My. Days.” Hope gives Alecto a concerned look. 

Silence falls over the group until Bobby clears his throat.

“So do we still play the game or…?” Bobby fidgets about.

“I think we should. Let’s keep the good vibes going.” Hope nodded.

The Islanders set chalk to chalkboards. Rocco catches Alecto watching him, and eyes her carefully.

“I’m sorry...for not telling you. I kissed Lottie.” Her voice shakes slightly and to her surprise he reaches out and places a hand on top of hers.

“It’s okay. I have no right to be mad here, considering how I’ve also messed up. Were you going to keep it secret, or did you plan on saying something?” His voice is level and rather soothing. _That’s surprising. He’s taking it well._

“When it happened, I kept trying to find her, to tell her that we had to tell both you and Bobby. Secrets have a habit of bringing themselves to light, anyway. But she kept not mentioning it, and you’ve maybe noticed her habit of being more harsh with me than anyone else. I know the stress of it was impacting her, but I couldn’t hide any longer. I’d explode if I continued keeping secrets.” her voice is barely audible and he has to lean in, to hear her. He nods, grabbing the chalk and writing Alecto’s name. 

She stays facing forward, not wanting the judgement of the others. She’s able to block everything out, even Marisol and Gary’s argument.

“This time it isn’t me. If you don’t believe me, you’ll see the proof in a minute.” Marisol rolls her eyes with a resigned, exasperated sigh. Gary glares at her. _You have a bad feeling about this. What if it was Alecto? She did say to you after Roccogate that she understands because she has done ‘something similar’, so what if this is the ‘something similar’? If so, she understands due to being aware of the backlash she’d likely face if she told the truth. You can’t judge her, even though she kissed Lottie. Hope and Priya wouldn’t, you think._

“Who would it be then? Hope and Noah are a solid couple, Priya and Lottie are hostile to one another and I just can’t see it being Alecto. She’s too quiet, she’s not the type.” Gary pointed out, eyeing her sceptically. _The quiet ones are the most dangerous. But what if you hurt her by accusing her of that, and lose your only friend?_

Marisol sighed, grabbing the chalk and writing her own name and holding it up. She noticed Alecto curled into herself, her chin resting on her knees. She looked so vulnerable it broke her heart. She noticed how Hope too was watching Alecto with concern, holding up a board with Marisol’s name on it. _Maybe she told Hope? She does trust her._

“So...who was it then?” Bobby removes the stickers, appearing to take longer this time. Marisol bit her tongue to stop herself getting him to do it quicker, she wasn’t sure if she was just imagining how long it took.

She gasped when she read Alecto’s name before her, the reveal shocked everyone into silence. _You knew it._

“Figures.” her voice was softer, she struggled to be happy at getting it right.

Gary folds his arms. “Wow. I never considered that was possible. You can think you know everything about someone, yet you know nothing at all. You were actually right about that one, Marisol, despite being the one who swanned off with Rocco.” His words are loud enough to catch the attention of the rest of the group, causing multiple pairs of eyes to spin in his direction. Even Alecto is looking over, the sadness clouding her brown eyes. _She hasn’t even been attacking Rocco, so she doesn’t deserve this treatment. She didn’t do anything as bad as he did, she kissed Lottie once. Gary has no right to judge her._

Marisol is about to retort back, fixing Gary with a fiery glare, until Noah cleared his throat.

‘Enough, everyone!” Noah cuts in, preventing the incoming argument. “We’re losing two guys tonight, so let’s put any issues we have on the back burner after that, OK? That also means no bringing this up with Lottie until we have a better idea of what went down.” 

“Come on, guys! Let’s bring back the hype. I want to know who won the challenge.” Hope changed the subject.

“That’s a good point!” Priya grinned.

Bobby goes up to the scoreboard and starts calculating the results. 

“The winners are...Henrik and Lucas.”

Everything fades as Alecto struggles to focus, not realising the Islanders leaving for the Villa. She’s alone, or nearly. She removes her glasses, resting her head on the table, moving the chalkboard and closes her eyes. She feels the table wobble slightly as someone sits down and she feels a gentle hand in her hair, along with a distinctive pineapple scent.

“That can’t be comfortable.” Marisol’s soft voice soothes her racing heart, and she sits up, putting her head on Marisol’s shoulder and nestling in. “You don’t need to talk, I wanted to be here for you if you wanted to though.”

A silence was held between them, until Alecto took in a deep breath and launched into her story, her voice soft and her words running together in her haste.

“I kissed Lottie the night Hannah was dumped. I couldn’t sleep and heard someone crying in the bathroom. I only went to the door to check if they were okay, I knocked first. Then leant against the door with my ear to the door, and fell in when it opened. I was surprised when she caught me, and stopped me from falling. She hugged me once we were inside together, which felt comfortable. I’ve always been picky with physical contact stuff, so the fact I let her hug me said it all. We ended up really close together, and I started rambling, trying to comfort her. She was so silent for so long, then she kissed me. Which was a surprise. I actually kissed her back, but once it was over, she stared at me in shock before vanishing. I was so shocked I stood in front of the mirror for what felt so long, but can’t have been as long as I thought. The fact that I had cheated, despite being cheated on in the past myself, hurt a lot. I couldn’t stop crying and ended up crying myself to sleep, thankfully Rocco’s a deep sleeper. The guilt has been eating at me for so long. I wanted to tell Rocco and Bobby, so they knew. Lottie’s been dodging the conversation for so long, that when I saw how pale she was, I had a feeling I knew what was happening. I’ll understand if you judge me for it, I keep beating myself up for it. And maybe...it’s my fault Rocco cheated.” She released a sob, feeling tears spill down her cheeks and into Marisol’s hair. She shivered, her teeth chattering. Marisol stroked her head, gently making sure to not catch her fingers in her hair. The touch ignited something deep within her, a feeling that only Sophie had caused. Sophie _again. That’s a blaring signal and a half._

“Listen to me. Rocco cheating was never your fault. The blame for that resides entirely with me and him, not you. You did kiss Lottie, but he had no idea as Lottie wouldn’t let you, right? The fact that I hurt you so much makes me feel so guilty, I’m very sorry. I’d be a hypocrite if I judged you for something I recently did on a larger scale but I understand why you kept it from me. You wanted Rocco and Bobby to know, for obvious reasons. The courage it must have taken to admit it though, does cause me to admire you. That takes guts and confidence. You’ve got quiet confidence, which people see as weak, but I know it’s strength. You did say that you understood before, now I know what you were referring to. You’ve been such a wonderful best friend, despite the hurt I caused you. So you’re stuck with me around, I’m afraid.” Marisol tried for a joke towards the end, delighting in the laughter by her ear and feeling her shoulder shake slightly. _You’ve never cared for someone quite this much. You’re more careful with her than you’ve ever been with anyone. You never wrote her name once during the challenge._

“Did you, did you work it out? I had a feeling you might, you can actually read me well, which is more than I can say for most people. Rocco actually took it well, I was pleasantly surprised there. I told Hope too, well, actually she was there when I couldn’t hold it in so I confessed to her.” Alecto’s words were getting less shaky, but she still felt herself stutter. She was surprised that she was this calm.

“Yes, I had a feeling Hope knew. I had a feeling it was you, also with the other tweet. I didn’t put your name for either one, I didn’t want to hurt you. You do mean a lot to me, I haven’t felt like this about anyone else.” Marisol found herself confessing, nearly spilling the beans about her feelings. She noticed Alecto move her head and give her a curious look, her lips curling upwards. Her cheeks flushed pink at being so close to her, and the way Alecto was looking at her. They were so close she could see the colour changes in Alecto’s eyes, where her eyes were dark brown, similar to milk chocolate and where they were slightly amber. The sunlight caused her eyes to change colour further, Marisol could tell she was staring, but couldn’t tear her gaze away. _Brown eyes are just brown eyes. Until you love someone with brown eyes then you fall completely in love with them. Your own eyes are more boring, more comparable to dark chocolate or even black coffee. They don’t change colour quite as frequently._

She hears Alecto clear her throat, and blushes deep red at being caught. Alecto laughs, her eyes lighting up with tiny sparks, like stars.

“Come on then, we should probably follow the others in. I’ve got a massive headache and could probably do with splashing my face with water. I’ve never cried this much, it’s becoming a problem!” Alecto put her glasses back on, standing and holding her hand out for Marisol, who took it. They walked together to the Villa, words not necessary. 


	24. Chapter 24

Lottie sits curled up on her bed, her thoughts beginning to spiral. _Alecto didn’t even try to keep it secret or even care about you. She put her name for that tweet related to you, but why would she do that? Unless she still cares about you. You’ve been doing everything you can to defend her, but she keeps ignoring that, defending Marisol and taking the side of one of the people who wronged her in the first place! Marisol obviously had her eye on Gary and had to have him, so stole him from Alecto, without her appearing to react. She might have seen it coming, but that doesn’t mean she should be this passive all the time._

She feels the bed bounce slightly as someone plops down beside her. She looks up, hoping against hope that it would be Alecto, but feels slightly disappointed to see Bobby.

“I wanted to check on you, after you ran off. I don’t hold the kiss against you, I wish you’d felt comfortable enough to tell me though, to give me a heads up.” He swung his legs, hanging off the edge of the bed while focusing a concerned gaze on her. She wiped her eyes, tears spilling over from earlier. 

“Anyway, keeping this secret must have been difficult for you. You don’t have to talk to me either, but I’m here if you want to.” he continued.

“I...I don’t understand. She cared enough about my feelings to put her own name to not hurt me, then even though the final tweet clearly bothered me, she still wanted the game to be completed. If she cared about not hurting me, then why would she want the truth to be known so badly? I was trying to help with the whole Rocco situation, but she kept rejecting my help! We’re supposed to be close, best friends, but I can’t help feeling that I messed up both with the kiss and choosing her. She keeps choosing _Marisol_ and Hope over me. Hope is one thing, I understand her having two best friends, but being close to the person who keeps hurting her? How is that possible? How is _Marisol_ better in her opinion than me?” Lottie met his eyes, her green gaze softer than usual and misty. Her throat felt hoarse from the crying, her words were quieter than usual and her tone relatively level, aside from the anger in her voice at the mere mention of Marisol.

“This is not meant in a judgemental way, but is that really true? I’ve seen you snap at her more than once recently, and you don't take into accord her dislike of arguments and loud noises. You keep doing the exact opposite to her wishes, so is it any wonder that she’s not responding well to it? She isn’t the type to give up on her friends when they mess up either, which is why she still maintains a friendship with Marisol. She hasn’t told me any of this either, I’ve just noticed the change in her overall demeanor. She doesn’t trust me enough to tell me anything, she appears to only trust Marisol, Lucas and Hope. If you want to earn her trust back, then maybe not expecting her to agree to your every idea and constantly back you up with everything would be a good start. Maybe Marisol respects her wishes far more than you do, and actually apologised. You keep baiting her into arguments, it isn’t the other way. Do you honestly think that’s the best way to earn her trust again?” Bobby held up his hands and backed away slightly, watching her. Lottie understands why, but he does have multiple points there. She’s not going to lash out at him either. _You do miss her, you want to have a proper relationship without all this weirdness. But in letting your feelings get the better of you and kissing her, you fucked that up. You’re straight, aren’t you? Then why do you have feelings you can’t explain towards her, feelings that are as strong as those you have for Henrik or Gary? You don’t even know how she feels about the kiss, whether she regrets it too. You keep avoiding talking to her about it, and stewing in your own thoughts._

“I’m trying to defend her, that’s all I want to do. She’s been so respectful and polite about the whole thing, even though I have a feeling she could quite easily give both of them hell for it. She’s shown that with her tone changes and sarcasm, she looks fragile and delicate but can defend herself. Her cold voice is more intimidating than actually being yelled at. I do want her back, really. I just...I feel betrayed by her deciding to reveal it, like that.” Lottie explained, breaking eye contact with Bobby and returning her stare to the duvet cover.

“If keeping it secret was hard for you, it was likely hard on her too. But likely worse, considering the whole Rocco situation. If she told him now, he could use that as an excuse for what he did. He appeared to take it well, even trying to comfort her. At the same time, she likely wanted to tell Rocco and me, then no one else. So in keeping it secret, you forced her hand into telling the full truth. I understand why she took it as a good opportunity to tell it though. She barely said anything the whole time and sat curled into herself. I was going to check on her, but felt that she wouldn’t want me to. Marisol did go to talk to her though, so she had that covered.” Bobby explained, offering the tissue box on his lap to Lottie. His words caused her to consider things she hadn’t even thought of. _Oh shit. If she just wanted only Bobby and Rocco to know, you could actually have done that. But you just let yourself sulk and dodge the situation entirely. At least Rocco wasn’t that much of a slime to hold it against her, you wouldn’t forgive yourself if keeping this secret caused him to blame her. You’re been so selfish that assuming that you were the only one impacted, yet you kissed her for goodness sake. It’s your fault this has happened, why didn’t you approach her like an adult and have an honest conversation about it? Hopefully Lucas won’t hold it against her either, if you ruined the one good relationship she’s had that will push her further towards Marisol._

“Maybe I do need to change the way I do things then. I’m still not sure what this means for us, I know she’s bisexual but I have no idea what I am. The kiss caused me to question so much about myself, I still don’t know fully. Which I realise now, I should probably have told her. She’d likely get it. What about Lucas? Did he say anything about it?” she blew her nose, looking up at Bobby.

“No, all he and Henrik did was look at her with concern. The only person who was judgemental as far as I remember was Gary. Noah had to intervene before Marisol snapped at him over it, she even put her own name so she didn’t hurt Alecto’s feelings for the actual tweet. Gary automatically blamed her for it, before the truth was revealed. No one else said anything at all.” he replied. Lottie released a relieved sigh. _That’s maybe ruined what Alecto and Gary had before, but as long as she has Lucas, she won’t care about you coupling up with Gary. She’s been so supportive before anyway. With Henrik possibly leaving, someone who you do have feelings for, your only real option is Gary. The fact that both Marisol and Priya were fooled so much by Alecto saying she preferred Henrik would always be so funny. The chemistry between Lucas and Alecto has been so apparent since he first came in. Hope also picked it up though, and might’ve had ulterior motives for not wanting Lucas to leave. You may not be Marisol’s biggest fan, but the fact she did actually defend Alecto is good._

“Thank you for this talk. I’ll work on my behaviour, hopefully she won’t give up on me. It will take time though.” Lottie stood up, making her way to the bathroom. _You’ll do anything for her to forgive you. You’re still a little hurt over her insisting the tweet be read out, but she must be hurt too. She keeps flinching away from you, you hope you’re not doomed._

A sense of foreboding hangs over the room as Alecto and the girls dress for the evening ahead.

“I feel like I’m getting ready for a funeral.” Marisol ducks her head slightly, her eyes staring at the floor. _Rocco leaving will hurt her. You end up with Lucas hopefully, so you’ve started to care less about Roccogate. That’s what you keep telling yourself, anyway. Just be there for her when the inevitable occurs._

“Last funeral I was at, I didn’t wear this much make up.” Priya tried to lighten the mood.

There’s a short buzz of laughter before the silence takes hold again.

Priya dabs her finger in a tub of balm and smears it onto her lips. Alecto takes a seat in front of the vanity mirror, examining the array of bottles. She clears her throat.

“I get that nobody wants to talk about this right now...but who do you guys think will be going home?” Alecto asks, her soft voice carrying in the silence. _This might be a bad idea, but everyone’s thinking about it anyway._

“Probably Henrik, right? It’s so much harder to break into a group once everyone’s already friends. Who do you think it’ll be?” Priya asks, a variety of expressions flashing across her face until she eventually focused on Alecto.

“Likely Rocco and Henrik.” She bit her lip, not elaborating further out of respect for Marisol.

“Obviously one of them will be Rocco.” Lottie chipped in, the mere suggestion causing a grin to appear on her face. _Wow! She looks so pleased about it, too. She’s not spoken to anyone since the challenge, and she’s no longer as angry at you, it seems, anyway._

The girls all stare at Lottie.

“The guy’s a slimeball. Why wouldn’t the public want him gone?” Lottie scrunched up her face with disgust, snapping out the words. To Alecto’s surprise, Lottie’s tone has no impact on her. Her face stays completely neutral as she pretends to be just fine. 

She hears a sniffle. One by one, the girls turn to look over at Marisol. Her lip is wobbling at Lottie’s comment, silent tears trailing down her cheeks. Alecto walks over and wraps her arms around Marisol. She smells faintly of rose and sandalwood. She feels Marisol hide her head in Alecto’s shoulder, releasing her tears. 

“No matter what happens, we’ll all be there for each other.” Alecto strokes Marisol’s back. Too quickly, they pull away from each other and Marisol nods, smiling at her and blowing on a tissue, wiping her eyes. _She’s put all of her eggs in Rocco’s basket, yet Lottie said he doesn’t stand a chance so that’s bound to hurt. She’s not usually the type to let herself get vulnerable either._

“Sorry, guys. I’m such a melt. I get why everyone’s so angry at Rocco, but he’s also been the first guy I’ve really clicked with. So for him to go just as we’ve started getting to know each other…” Marisol trails off, looking up at the girls through misty eyes. 

“I’m so over this.” Lottie snapped. 

The girls look around. Lottie’s standing with her arms crossed, her expression implacable. 

“Alecto got pied off for you and so far it feels like hardly anyone else cares about that. You knew what you were doing, the same way you did when you stole Gary from Alecto. And you didn’t even like him. You’ve targeted people who Alecto’s coupled up with not once, but twice. Are you jealous of her or something?” Lottie’s eyes were blazing, her glare cut deep into Marisol. Her angry tone made Alecto want to put her hands over her ears, to block out the incoming argument. _Jeez. She does actually have a point there._

“You know that’s not true! I liked him. I did. But it felt like there was something wrong almost immediately after we coupled up. It wasn’t anything personal against Alecto, she’s my best friend! Gary wouldn’t have been able to couple up with her anyway, because of Rocco.. It turns out I was right to be suspicious of you and your intentions towards her anyway. You’ve continually ignored her feelings in order to snap back at Rocco and take it out on her when she wouldn’t follow your actions. And I think you know what I’m on about, don’t you? Running off like that didn’t exactly make you look innocent.” Marisol snapped back, her sharp tone hurting Alecto’s ears. She clutched on tight to her bracelet, trying to prevent herself needing to block everything out. Hope caught her arm, pulling her gently to stand in between her and Priya, them acting as a barrier between her and the argument. _She continues to stick up for you. And sees you as her best friend, which you do agree. Even after what she did._

Lottie’s face turns pale, her eyes looking over at Alecto, betrayal plain to see. _Did she expect you to follow her, keeping yourself quiet again? As that so wouldn’t happen by any means._

“I’m just done with you being so cliquey, Lottie.” Marisol finished. 

“That’s not the point. Why should you get to do whatever you want and just get away with it? Alecto already explained that you two really like each other. But it’s not just about your feelings, you know. I don’t need to have my face rubbed in it.” Lottie snapped back, standing her ground. Alecto put her hands over her ears, watching warily until she was sure both of them had stopped.

“L...look, we all...need to live here together. Can we just move past all this?” Alecto stuttered at first, feeling her voice break and winced, but working through it until she found a point of quiet confidence and fought to keep her voice stable. She maintained eye contact with Marisol, seeing her as the more reasonable one of the two of them. _Why can’t you handle this kind of thing without stuttering or your voice breaking? Guess you’re still not past high school yet._

‘I know you’ve been trying to keep the peace, Alecto...but maybe you should butt out.” Lottie’s sentence starts with a hint of vulnerability, before turning harsh and lashing out very quickly at Alecto. Alecto blinked, moving backwards and retreating into herself. Hope put an arm around her shoulders quickly, trying to soothe her. _So much for her changing a bit._

“Guys! Took you long enough. I literally said ‘guys’ about three times already. Anyway, I got a text.” Hope said, holding her phone.

“What does it say?” Lottie asked. 

Hope bites her lip, looking down at the phone.

“It’s time.” she said.

“The dumping!” Alecto said.

The girls stare at each other, their argument abandoned.

“Oh my gosh... This is actually happening, isn’t it? Let’s have a solidarity hug first.” Hope, Priya and Marisol all embrace. Lottie glances at Alecto, who winds her arms around the other girls, squishing in. A few moments later, she feels Lottie join in, too. She feels too close for comfort to the blonde and the other girls, being this short regularly had downsides. 

“Chin up, girls. Let’s go downstairs.” Hope encourages.

They separate, Marisol and Hope walking at either side of Alecto, each holding her hand. She limps, allowing them to support her. Her toe is gradually becoming better, day by day. 

Alecto takes her place around the fire pit with the other Islanders. Ibrahim, Henrik and Rocco stand in front of her with their hands clasped. Gary mutters to himself, shaking his head.

“This is proper brutal.” He looks over at Alecto for a moment, looking away when she looks back. _Why is he so offended over the kiss? He wasn’t even partnered up with you!_

For a long moment, all is silent. A phone buzzes.

“That’s me.” Noah gets up to read the text. “Islanders, you’ve had your say, and now so has the public. It’s time to say goodbye to two boys.” 

Noah looks around at the other Islanders. His phone vibrates again in his hand. “The first boy to be dumped from the Island is…”

Hope reaches out and grabs Marisol’s hand. Alecto holds hands with Priya and Marisol, standing either side of her. She takes in a deep breath to help stabilise her. Ibrahim squeezes his eyes shut.

“Henrik.” Noah finished.

Henrik hangs his head. The sad look on his face makes Alecto’s heart drop from underneath her. _This is partially your fault. You knew there was a chance he would leave, but it could easily have been Lucas in his place if you had trusted Priya and Marisol to vote honestly._

“That’s so whack.” Lucas said, looking at Henrik with sympathy. _He’s losing his best friend here, which must be hard._

Before anybody else has a chance to comment, Priya’s phone goes off. She stands up, releasing Alecto’s hand to read the text. “The second person to be dumped from the Island is…” Priya takes a deep breath. “Rocco.” 

Ibrahim breathes a sigh of relief before turning to throw his arms around Rocco.

“I’m sorry, man.”

Henrik’s phone goes off. He bats back tears as he reads the message. “Henrik and Rocco, your time in the Villa has come to an end. You have thirty minutes to pack your bags and say your goodbyes.”

The other Islanders start getting up from the fire pit to hug the boys.

“Come on, lads. I’ll help you both pack.” Ibrahim offers.

Alecto follows the other Islanders back inside.

Rocco’s in the bathroom when she walks in. He’s holding a toothbrush in both hands, fiddling with the bristles.

“Alecto! I was just grabbing my toiletries…” he looks down, turning the stem of the brush between his fingers.

“Any regrets?” She keeps it polite, pushing her glasses up her nose and eyeing him warily.

“You know...my mum always said I should live life free from guilt…and gluten. And I always thought that meant feeling proud of myself no matter what, you know? But now I don’t think that’s it at all. If you do the right thing in the first place, you’ve got nothing to feel bad about, right? So thinking about it that way…” he pauses. “Yeah, I guess I do regret a few things.” Rocco pinches the bridge of his nose and frowns. “Look, I know I put you in an awkward situation. Being single in here and everything. I...I’m sorry. Marisol and I just kind of... happened.” He drops his gaze, scratching behind his ear. “I guess you’ll be cracking on with someone else now that I’m out of the picture?” 

“You were never my type. Not on paper, not in real life. But I guess I should thank you for freeing up some room in the Villa. Now we can get someone who’s more up my street.” Her voice was icy cold, fixing him with an icy glare. _He was only a backup option anyway. You used him to stay in the Villa. Which worked out, you’ve got Lucas now. Hopefully anyway._

She realised he had finished talking, as he eyed her before disappearing. She had missed a chunk of conversation, but it didn’t matter.

The Islanders gather outside the Villa to wave off Rocco and Henrik. Bobby has his arm around Lottie’s shoulders. She’s trying to look composed, but can’t seem to muffle her sniffling noises. _She must actually like Henrik. Or leftover feelings for Rocco, maybe?_

Henrik emerges from the Villa trailing his suitcase. He looks at each of the boys in turn.

“Lads.” Henrik turns and nods in Alecto’s direction. “Ladies. It’s been great meeting you all. I hope we all get to hang out when the summer’s over.” he turns to Lucas. They grin at each other. 

“Stay solid, man.” Lucas grinned.

“Yeah, I’ll try my best not to melt.” Henrik said.

“Mate, you’re already a melt. I like to think it’s part of your charm.” Henrik and Lucas hug, patting each other on the back. The other Islanders move in on them, swamping Henrik with hugs and kind words.

“We’ll all miss you. I know I will, especially. See you on the outside.” she sent him a warm smile, letting him hug her.

“Yeah, same to you. Gotta say, it’s gonna be weird watching you all on TV.” Henrik’s expression fell, looking like a sad puppy.

“Mate, we’ll be hanging out again before you know it.” Lucas said.

A door latch clicks behind Alecto. Rocco emerges from the Villa. He takes a deep breath as the Islanders turn to look at him. 

“I know I’ll miss some of you more than others.” Marisol smiles at him, standing close beside Alecto.

When Rocco starts to launch into a philosophical speech, Alecto finds herself struggling to focus. She focuses on a point above his head and keeps a neutral face, pretending to listen but deep inside her own head. 

When he turns to her, she gives him a soft smile.

“I hope everything goes well for you outside the Villa. I’m sure you’ll find someone really special.” She keeps her voice polite, her smile not reaching her eyes.

“Yeah, I think if the Villa’s taught me anything, it’s that I’m not looking for any old trout, you know. I need, like...a rainbow fish.” _Trout? How rude._ Alecto raises one eyebrow, fixing him with a cold glare causing him to flinch and turn away, blinking. Lucas slides his arm around her shoulders and she leans into it.

Rocco pats his suitcase.

“I guess we should probably get going.” he takes barely one step before Marisol jumps on him, tangling her arms around his neck. _She must care about him so much, even though he was only using her to stay in the Villa. You do feel sorry for her, she’s pretty much up a creek without a paddle currently. Being coupled up with Gary and Bobby didn’t work out well, Lucas likes you and Noah and Rahim are both loyal to Hope and Priya respectively. If Lottie and Gary end up together, she’s stuck with Bobby in another friendship couple. The only guy she has romantic feelings for is leaving too, despite Rocco being such a slime._

“I’ll miss you.” Marisol’s voice was shaky and her lip wobbled, she was struggling to hold back tears. Alecto felt herself struggling to watch them without tearing up, it hurt to see Marisol so vulnerable. _She risked everything, yet it didn’t pay off. Now she’s alone._

“I’ll miss you, too.” Rocco replied.

They kiss for a short moment before Marisol lets him go. The boys walk away with their suitcases, waving over their shoulders. Alecto waves them goodbye with the other Islanders, the boys spot her waving and grin. She waits until they’re out of sight before heading back inside with the others. 

Nobody seems to feel like talking as they make their way up to the bedroom. Last to come inside is Marisol. She dallies at the foot of the stairs before slumping onto one of the sofas. 

Alecto nudges Lucas.

“I’m going to check on her, I’m a little worried about her.”

Lucas nods, moving his arm from around her shoulders. 

Alecto limps back down the stairs and sits beside Marisol. She takes controlled breaths as she keeps her mascara from running with a tissue. A few moments pass before she says anything.

“You OK, hun? You seem pretty low.” Alecto looked over to her with a concerned look, putting a gentle arm around her shoulders. Marisol leans into her arm, moving closer to her.

“Please, I’m living my best life.” she manages a watery laugh. “Pretty unconvincing, isn’t it?”

Marisol’s gaze dropped to her hands, her eyes misty.

“Would you rather I let you be?” Alecto asked, watching her carefully, feeling leftover tears appear behind her eyes. Seeing Marisol like this was doing things to her. _Sometimes when you’re struggling, all you want is to be alone. Other times, you prefer to have company. You’re not sure which one Marisol is yet, not everyone enjoys being vulnerable around others. But didn’t you and Sophie always set each other off, tears wise? It’s a sign of a strong emotional bond. The tears you feel now are like that, maybe._

“No!” she composes herself, smiling sheepishly. “I’d,err, like it if you stayed.” Her eyes flicker towards Alecto. _Maybe you should ask her if it’s possible for something between you and her? Alecto does now have Lucas, but she might feel the feelings you do. There’s no harm in asking after all._

“You remember when we played truth or dare on the first day?” Marisol asked, leaning her head on Alecto’s shoulder. 

“Yeah, I remember.” Alecto nodded.

“Someone asked you if you’d ever date a girl. And you said ‘yes’.” Marisol hesitates, tracing shapes on the sofa with her index finger. She bit her lip, straightening up and watching Alecto carefully. She could feel her heart racing in her chest, and took a deep breath. Marisol ignored the tears still trailing down her cheeks, the nervous silence continuing.

Alecto reached over, wiping her tears away and giving her a genuine smile, going as far to show the gap between her two front teeth. She usually kept her mouth closed when she smiled, due to years of being teased for having small wonky teeth. The fact she felt that comfortable was a big thing in her eyes. _Wait...is she nervous? What does she have to tell you? Maybe she feels it too, the electricity between the two of you._

“Look, I’m not entirely sure how I feel about anyone yet now that Rocco’s gone. But I was thinking it might be nice to get to know each other better. You know...as more than friends.” Marisol touches her hand to her collarbone, looking at Alecto from beneath lowered eyelashes. Alecto’s cheeks flushed, the flirty look Marisol was giving her causing butterflies in her stomach and the vibrating of the tiny spark in her palm. Her mouth felt dry, and her heart was beating so loudly she felt Marisol must be able to hear it. _Wow, is this really happening? Do you really have not one, but two people genuinely in love with you?_

“I’ll only ask once...but is that something you’d be interested in at some point?” Marisol watched Alecto carefully, time appearing to slow down as she waited with bated breath for her answer. _Hopefully you did the right thing, letting yourself become vulnerable like this. It terrifies you, feeling so strong feelings for her. But hopefully you’re reading the signals right._

“Y...yeah, I’d like that. Let’s get to know each other and see what happens.” Alecto stuttered in her rush to get her words out, blushing even deeper red and feeling leftover tears make their way down her cheeks. _Is this happening? She really said that, right?_

Marisol’s face brightens.

“I’m so relieved to hear you say that. Obviously it’s early days. I’m not saying we should pick each other in the next recoupling or anything. Let’s just see how it goes for now, and maybe sometime in the future…” she blushes and flicks her hair, gently placing her hand on top of Alecto’s. “It’s nice to know that you’re an option. I’ll be just a few more minutes here. You should head upstairs and get ready.” she reached over, wiping the tears from Alecto’s eyes.

“See you in a bit then.” Alecto stands and makes her way upstairs, feeling like she’s floating on clouds.

Marisol finds a smile come to her face, struggling to not do a little happy dance. _Your instincts were right there. She’s compared you to Sophie before, her ex obviously means a lot to her as they’re still friends. So if she feels the feelings that Sophie gave her for you, you’re in luck. Today was difficult, but every cloud has a silver lining. You took a major gamble and it paid off. You might have no idea what you’re going to do next, but at least you have her by your side regardless._

The bedroom is quiet. Alecto looks around, watching the other Islanders get ready for bed. Her eyes fall on Lucas, perched on the edge of his bed with a distant look. In his hands is the pillow with Henrik’s name embroidered on the front. _He looks so lonely without Henrik. He’s likely sad about his best friend leaving. It couldn’t hurt if we spent the night together on the daybeds._

She walks over to Lucas’s bed and sits down beside him. He opens one sleepy eye and looks at her. 

“You guys were tight, weren’t you? It must be rough with him gone.” she puts an arm around his shoulders.

“You could put it that way. We came in here at the same time, so we both knew what it was like to be the new guys. Obviously I’m closer with the others now, but to start with it was easier to just chat together. So we ended up getting a lot closer with each other than with anyone else.” Lucas explained.

“That’s really hard on you then, with him leaving.” she replied, her voice softer. She felt vulnerable, and knew it was clear on her face, the leftover tears still present. 

“I guess we’ve both lost people today.” he nodded, looking at her with concern.

“Yeah, about that...maybe you’d like some company tonight? I mean, you’re single, I’m single…” she felt a rush of confidence come over her, and took a deep breath, blurting out her words before she lost her nerve. They came out slightly garbled, and she watched him carefully. She clasped her hands together, staring at them. _Hopefully you read things right. You can’t have read him wrong, right?_

Lucas thinks over her words.

“Yeah, why not then? I’ll meet you down there in a bit.” his eyes lit up as he grinned at her. He reached a gentle hand over to her and wiped the tears from her eyes. She cursed her pale skin as she blushed even more. _Maybe now you can be lucky and be coupled with someone who won’t use you. You do feel more natural around him, and the same is true for Marisol. Be careful in comparing both of them to Sophie, even though the feelings feel the same, your relationship with Sophie took longer to fully develop than either of them._

Suddenly, Priya emerges from the bathroom holding her phone. There’s toothpaste all around her mouth.

“Guyth, I goth a teth!” Priya’s words were muffled due to the toothpaste.

“Spit your toothpaste out!” Alecto called over.

Priya darts back into the bathroom and re-emerges moments later with a clean mouth.

“Guys, I got a text! Islanders, tomorrow there will be a girls’ choice recoupling. That’s all it says.” she read.

The Islanders exchange looks. 

“But everyone is happy with their current partners, right?” Hope asked, moving closer to Noah.

“Not necessarily. That would mean that Alecto and Lucas have to couple up for the sake of the others. They may not want to do that.” Noah cut in. _What if you definitely do, and are definitely cool with it? You think Lucas is too._

Hope’s eyes wide, but Noah grins and kisses her on the forehead.

“Don’t worry yourself, duck.” Noah’s gaze drifts to meet Alecto’s. He smiles, and looks between her and Lucas. _Wait. Has he worked it out? Or did Hope tell him?_

“Surely that would be the best thing for the group though, right? If they chose each other?” Hope made eye contact with her and winked, grinning at her.

“But that may not be in their interests. This is still a competition to find love, at the end of the day. We all need to put our own interests first. If you’re not falling for them, get rid and move on.” Marisol bit her lip, dodging eye contact with Alecto. _She has a point, and might be interested in Lucas. But that won’t go anywhere, because of you. She’s vulnerable too, and stuck in an unsuitable couple. But they keep talking like both of you aren’t hearing all of this, like you’re ghosts. Which does piss you off._

“Could you guys please stop talking about us like we’re not here?” Alecto sent an icy glare towards the others, her words cold enough to freeze them in place. Marisol flinched, blinking slowly and looking over to her, realising that she was in the room, and ducking her head slightly. 

“Sorry, guys. I guess the rest of us are just trying to figure out how worried we should be.” Hope laughs nervously, but Noah squeezes her arm reassuringly. 

Alecto’s eyes drift back to Lucas, still lying there on his bed. Alecto disappears into the dressing room, changing into her pajamas and brushing through her hair. She reappeared in the bedroom, picking up her pillows and carrying them down to the daybeds.

Lucas arrives shortly after her. He positions the pillows while she flattens out the duvet. She slides into bed next to him. There’s something exciting about the unfamiliarity of his body so close to hers. She takes off her glasses, putting them safely on the small table next to the bed.

“Did you want to cuddle, or would you rather have your own space tonight? I make a great big spoon, but little spoon would be cool, too.” Lucas asked, his words in a slight rush, his cheeks flushing slightly at his ramble. _That’s definitely just what you need. You can only be little spoon, due to being tiny. Is being around you making him feel awkward? Usually that’s how you are around others._

“Little spoon is cool by me.” she gave him a soft smile.

“Hopefully that’s just your cuddling preference. I always use a little spoon. Hopefully we won’t end up fighting to the death over silverware.” she noticed him wince slightly at his rambling and laughed, her eyes lighting up at his comment. _Aww. He’s a bit nervous, so he can’t stop rambling. That’s definitely what you do, too._

He threads his arm under her neck and allows her to back up against his chest before wrapping his spare arm around her. She feels her eyes close, nestling into his warmth. She had been struggling to sleep since the night of the Lottie kiss, and was shocked at how quickly she felt herself start to drift off. _Maybe this is how you know you’re suited to someone. You can sleep easily when they’re there beside you._

  
  



	25. Chapter 25

Alecto’s awoken by the sounds of birdsong. The gentle light of the morning sun greets her. She moves and bumps into another body in the bed. It’s Lucas. _Maybe things are starting to go right for you? Sleeping outside with him was a great idea, you feel strangely more well rested than usual._

Just then, Lucas begins to stir.

“Huh? Oh! Erm, good morning.” He looked startled, his hair ruffled.

“Sleep well?” She smiled at him, a strange warm feeling coming easy to her.

“Yes, actually. I didn’t think I would after yesterday...you make an excellent spoon. Much better than Henrik, that’s for sure!” She felt her face go warm, the smoulder that appeared for an instant having an impact on her. Her cheeks flushing slightly.

His smile disappeared as he continued.

“I’m sorry about what happened with you and Rocco. That wasn’t okay. No one should act like that.” he gently pulled her closer to him, trying to soothe her. _He cares about you. That’s rare, you’re not used to this. Marisol and Hope also care but it feels different with him._

“I...I’m still so mad at him. I know things were rough... but that’s no excuse!” Her voice wobbled and he gently stroked her hair, being careful not to get his fingers caught. She felt tears appear and she started to move away, curling herself into a ball and hiding her head behind her knees.

“Yeah, like, I still think he’s a great bloke, but it’s for the best that he’s gone.” Lucas’ voice softens slightly and he strokes her back. She doesn’t move, staying tightly curled and listening to the birdsong while allowing a comfortable silence between them. 

Lucas moves his hand, rubs his eyes and looks around. 

“It’s so much more peaceful out here than the bedroom.” He turns back to Alecto.

“We should just spend all morning in bed.” He suggests. She turns towards Lucas, uncurling and focusing teary eyes on him.

“Sorry. I’m not usually like this, but Rocco reminds me of my ex Étienne. He cheated on me with my own best friend, and I guess I’ve never fully gotten over that. It does hurt and the Rocco situation brought back those feelings. But thank you for caring, it means so much. I’m really not used to people caring about me, usually I rely pretty heavily on myself.” She explained, wiping her eyes. She felt vulnerable without her glasses, she felt strange without them on. It wasn’t just the partially cloudy vision either, but the fact that not many people had seen her without them.

He nodded, putting an arm around her. 

“It makes sense that it had an impact on you, and how Rocco brought back those old feelings. Being independent isn’t a bad thing, but allowing yourself to let other people in matters too. People need people and I understand how difficult that can be.” He wiped her eyes, leaving his hand on her cheek for what felt like longer than the minute it rested there. _You just emotionally unloaded a bit of your life onto him, yet it doesn’t scare him off. That’s a surprise. Usually the slightest show of emotions sends people running, but that does say something about some of the people in your past._

A silence lasted between them again until he changed the subject.

“I can’t remember the last time I had a good lie in. I never get the time. My shifts tend to start pretty early. There’s lots of patients to get through. You’d be surprised how many people need physiotherapy. I don’t sleep in on my days off, either. It would mess up my routine.” He said. _Wait, same! Ever since uni, anyway. Shift patterns are difficult to balance with life so it makes sense not to fuck up your sleeping pattern further by sleeping in._

“That’s the exact same as me. I started it as a result of uni, and practical work and shift patterns.” She grinned, retrieving her glasses from the bedside table and putting them on. It was helpful to see the world clearly again.

“That’s great to know! Not many people I’ve dated can handle my routine.” He grins back, her mirror.

For a while, both of them lie there chatting. Then Lucas turns to face her. He looks at her intently. She presses her finger on Lucas’s nose.

“Boop!” She teases him, delighted at the surprised look on his face.

She feels giggles building up inside her and lets them loose, startling him until he joins in. They just lie there some time longer, talking and laughing. Eventually she tires of staying in bed, and gets up, heading to the dressing room. To her relief her limp isn’t as pronounced, her toe seems to be healing. She’s unable to stop herself grinning, her eyes lighting up. She feels so warm, in a way she hasn’t felt for a while.

There’s a flurry of activity inside the dressing room as the girls prepare for the day ahead. Hairdryers thrum, cleansing wipes lie discarded on the floor, and the air smells strangely of...strawberries?

Alecto slips inside, light on her feet. She finds herself a spot in front of the mirror, noticing how she appears to be glowing. She uncurls her left hand, noticing the vibrant spark standing out in her palm.

“How does this room always have a different smell?” Priya asks, looking confused.

“Who knows? At least it’s pleasant!” Hope appeared next to Alecto, nudging her in the side and winking. Alecto blushed, dodging eye contact, Hope grinning back at her. To her relief, no one else appeared to see something different about her.

“So, ladies, exciting day ahead for us! We’re the ones with the power.” Priya grinned.

“As it should be.” Lottie agreed. _Whoa, has hell frozen over? Those two agreed again._

“Priya’s right, those guys out there are gonna be working it today. They may be safe, but they’ll still want their favourite to pick them.” Hope agreed.

“I say we make them sweat.” Lottie smirked, twirling a lock of hair around her finger.

“Now you’re talking! Let’s make them work for our attention.” Priya licked her lips at the mere thought.

Marisol had remained quiet, but she caught Alecto’s eye, moving to stand by her other side.

“After everything that’s happened, that sounds like the pick-me-up I need.” Marisol grinned, resting a hand on Alecto’s shoulder. 

“Hmm...they’d do the same…” her voice floated off, not entirely believing her words. 

“Exactly. And anyway I’m looking forward to getting to know some of them a bit better.” Marisol nodded, appearing to not notice Alecto’s dreamy look. 

Alecto stood, going to get changed then settling in front of the mirror.

“So, just between us, do you know who you’re going to pick?” Priya moved closer to her, whispering in her ear.

“Lucas.” She whispered back, her eyes shining slightly.

“Excuse me, let me feign surprise. I mean, you spent the night out there with him.” Priya looks Alecto up and down, Alecto squirms under her gaze, blushing bright red. Priya laughed, resting an arm on her shoulder. “He’s clearly impressed you, whatever he did...Well, looks like the time has come…” Priya turns to the others in the room, and Alecto goes back to sorting her hair, putting it into a simple side braid and clipping her fringe back.

“Girls! Let’s hit the Villa.” Priya grinned.

Hope, Priya and Marisol have planted themselves in the perfect spot to watch the boys working out in the gym. They give a wave as Alecto takes one of the bean bags next to them. She looks over at the boys.

“Look at Rahim giving the boys lessons.” She finds herself studying them, pushing her glasses up her nose.

“It’s the only time you really see him...confident? Like, he’s so in his comfort zone there.” Marisol grinned, leaning slightly towards Alecto.

“Yeah, it’s adorable.” Hope agreed.

“Maybe that’s the key? Maybe I just need to work out a ton to get through that shield?” Priya said. _Working out with Ibrahim isn’t your thing. Lucas, though..._

“Sounds tough.” Alecto slips in a little comment so Priya doesn’t notice her floating off.

“That’s because you’re coming at it from the wrong place. There are ways to make it more exciting. Think of the massage afterwards…” Priya gives a flirty smile. _Lucas must give amazing massages._

Marisol nudges her, grinning at Alecto when she looks up. _Whoops. Caught!_

Alecto blushes slightly, blinking and bringing herself back into the present, turning back to the boys.

Marisol grins like the cat that got the cream next to her.

The group of girls relax as they watch the boys puff and strain away.

“It’s all for the recoupling.” Marisol said, a neutral expression back on her face. _Hmm. You wonder what she’s thinking._

“No doubt.” Hope agreed.

“Here’s a question— if you could make a new boy out of these ones, what would he be like?” Priya asked.

“What do you mean?” Marisol looked confused, looking over to Priya.

Alecto feels herself float off again, the warm day letting her eyes shut. She always struggled with heat, especially with no way of shade. Her eyes reopen again as she hears Marisol’s voice.

“I’d have Roc—oh...Sorry, it’s still sinking in.” Marisol’s tone changed, and she looked down again. Alecto linked hands, squeezing her hand in silent comfort. _It appears him leaving has far more of an impact on her than it does on you. Which is understandable, she did love him so it must hurt._

“That’s fine, hun. You’ll find the right person in here, don’t you worry.” Hope tried to comfort her.

Marisol looks over at Alecto for a moment, noticing Alecto’s hand in hers, before smiling back at Hope.

Alecto floats off again, focusing on the boys. Rahim is assisting Gary with pull ups. Noah’s doing squats next to them. Hope bites her lip. Alecto stands before she falls asleep, letting go of Marisol’s hand.

The smell of baking hits her the moment she steps into the kitchen. A mass of mixing bowls, egg-covered utensils, and a fine coating of flour lie sprawled along the counters. Lottie sits on a nearby stool while Bobby checks the oven.

“Hey, Alecto.” Lottie flashes her a smile.

Bobby spins around from the oven.

“It’s you! You’re just in time to try my latest cupcake sensation...the Magical Island Rainbow Shine! What do you think?” Bobby grinned. _Someone can’t name stuff well!_

“It’s a bit...long.” She tried to stay polite, her lips twitching slightly but otherwise pulling off her ruse.

“Aww, I spent ages on that one.” He pouted.

“Well, it’s for me anyway, and…” Lottie turns to Bobby and smiles sweetly. “I think the name is perfect, Bobby.” _So he bakes Lottie cupcakes and fawns over her, yet he didn’t care in the slightest when you were going through Roccogate. Lovely. You’re not jealous, you know your true friends. Actually it does hurt a bit, you felt so alone during the situation with Rocco._

Bobby beams.

“What can I say? It was inspired by you, after all.” Lottie playfully nudges Bobby in the arm before looking down at the counter. Her head rests in her palm. Bobby’s smile fades and he takes Alecto aside, speaking in a low whisper.

“Lottie’s feeling down about something. I’m making these cupcakes to try and cheer her up a bit. I don’t know how much good they’ll do, though…” something beeps loudly.

“The cakes! I need to take them out, excuse me.” Bobby darts back into the kitchen.

Alecto turns to see Lottie staring at her.

“Hey...can we talk? You’ve been there for me before, babe... I could really use a friend.” She flashes a smile for a minute and pats the stool next to her.

Alecto takes a seat next to Lottie. She takes a deep breath, holds it for a second, and then breathes out.

“Okay, suppose there was a guy in here that I like... and suppose we’d be a ‘controversial’ couple.” Lottie starts. “I know that you were with him at the start, then Hannah and Marisol wanted him after that, but… I fancy Gary.” _Not surprised in the slightest. You’ve been able to pick that up easily._

“That’s not a surprise.” Alecto rests her head in her hands, tilting it to the side as she eyed Lottie.

“Really? Was it that obvious? All the things I’ve said about him...and to him. And there’s Girl Code. I want Gary, but I don’t want to step on anyone’s toes. What do you think?” Lottie watched her carefully. _She likely doesn’t want to hurt you or you to spoil her chances._

“You should crack on with Gary. I wouldn’t worry about hurting anyone. Marisol isn’t exactly into Gary. He’s fair game, babe.” Alecto explained.

“Thanks, babe. I hope you’re right. I just don’t want to break Girl Code, y’know? I’ve already made up my mind, I guess. It’s just good to bounce this stuff off of someone. But there is something else...it’s about the recoupling. I want to pick Gary this evening. Can I make sure that you won’t?” Lottie clasped her hands together, giving her a pleading look. _Sure enough. You wouldn’t do that in the slightest. Lucas is the one for you._

“We were together in the past, but that was the past. If you want him, I definitely won’t. You deserve to be happy. I’m picking Lucas anyway.” Alecto explained. 

“Really?! That means so much to me, babe! You’re a true friend. I’m so blessed to have found you in here. I’m sorry I went against your wishes with being overly against Rocco, I should’ve thought that through more. I’m also sorry for not discussing the kiss with you further, and agreeing to keep it to just us, along with Bobby and Rocco. It was wrong of me to assume I was the only one being impacted, it takes two to tango.” Lottie sighed, catching hold of Alecto’s hands and looking at her straight on. “I understand keeping it secret hurt you, too. I miss you, I want to be friends again. Bobby came to talk to me after the tweet challenge. He explained what I was doing wrong, and how to solve it. He was concerned about you, too, but left Marisol to talk to you and comfort you as he thought you wouldn’t talk to him.” She explained, waiting with bated breath for Alecto’s response. Alecto felt her words catch in her throat, speechless.

At that moment, Bobby turns around, holding a tray of perfect cupcakes.

“Behold! A batch of ‘egg-squisite’ cupcakes. I iced little dolphins onto them. I know they’re your favourite, Lottie.”

He sees Lottie’s flushed face and his expression switches immediately.

“Is...everything okay?” He looks between Alecto and Lottie, setting the tray in front of Lottie.

“No…” Lottie lets go of Alecto’s hands, dropping them with force on the counter, gets up, goes to move off, turns back, grabs a cupcake, then leaves.

“Things didn’t go as expected, eh? I better catch up to her.” He grabs the tray and follows Lottie.

_She expects you to go straight back to her, huh? You don’t know what you want to do. Do you want to forgive her? Or what if she messes up again? Her apology was unexpected and you just don’t know what to do. You appreciate the fact Bobby stepped in though, surprisingly. Maybe his intervention did help. At the same time, you can’t just forgive and forget. It’s not that easy._

She shook her head to snap herself out of thinking too much, and hopped off the stool. She decides to make her way to the gym. As she enters, she sees Gary wiping his brow with a towel. Ibrahim and Noah sit near him on one of the benches.

“C’mon, lads, that’s enough of a break. We gotta look sharp, the girls are watching. Want to make sure I impress--” Gary gets cut off. _Wow, someone’s oblivious. Unless you’re really that quiet and unmemorable._

Alecto glared in his direction, tapping her foot slightly, waiting for him to notice her.

Noah lets out a loud cough and nods in Alecto’s direction.

“You should pay more attention to your surroundings.” Noah smiled. 

“Huh? Oh! Alecto. Erm… Come for a closer look, eh?” Gary jumped, looking in her direction, recovering himself and flashing her a flirty smile. _You should definitely wear a bell. Maybe then you wouldn’t get forgotten quite as easily._

“I thought you could use some tips.” She pushed her glasses up her nose and studied him.

“See! I told you your form was off, Gary.” Ibrahim grinned.

“All right, settle down. I don’t usually use a gym, okay.” Gary strikes a pose and flexes. “This is all natural...Anyway, shall we get back to it? We’ve got an Alecto to impress for tonight…”

“Yep. Alright you two, we’re going to do three sets of push-ups with lunges in-between. Fifteen reps each.” Ibrahim stands, regaining focus.

“You’re a machine, mate.” Gary stared at him.

“That’s just the warm-up to the weights.” Rahim looks at her. “You want to join in?” _You’ve got a bit of stress to shift, so why not!_

“Count me in!” she grinned at him. Her hair was already back, so she didn’t have to worry there.

“That’s what I’m talking about!” Ibrahim grinned.

“I wouldn’t have expected anything else from you.” Gary looked at her, impressed.

“Alright, have you done this before? What level would you say you’re at?” Ibrahim asked. _You’ve used weights before, you used to go to the gym to let off steam before. To release anger and not take it out on others._

“Alecto’s a pro, trust me.” Gary nodded, making eye contact with her. _He’s completely changed tune! Now he’s buttering you up, how suspicious._

“I’m an expert.” She focused on Ibrahim.

“Great! I’ll focus on these two and you can do what you like.” He nodded. 

Ibrahim takes his position and all of you fall in line with him. 

“Right then, let’s do those sets I mentioned earlier.” he introduces.

The workout is intense. But Alecto’s soon outpacing both Gary and Noah, matching Ibrahim. She doesn’t have the time to think, her thoughts floating away.

“Amazing going, Alecto! Gary, keep an eye on this one. You can learn a few things from her form.” Ibrahim calls out.

“Sorry Alecto, Ibrahim says I have to check out your ‘form’.” Gary looks over at her, a smirk on his face. _Ha ha, very funny._

After a while, Ibrahim stands up and looks around the group.

“It feels great to have a crew again. Golf can be a bit lonely at times. When I’m just practising, I’m too focused on my form to really chat with my caddy. But you lot are smashing it. It’s so great we can all work together like this!” he stops smiling and casts his eyes to the ground. “I was so certain that I’d be voted to leave last night. The thought that I could have been standing up there with Rocco and Henrik made me feel sick. I’d have missed our little crew. I know it’s mad, it’s only been nine days in here, but I feel like we’ve all been mates for years.” he explained.

“I’m so relieved that you’re still with us.” Noah said.

“Yeah, mate. Who else would tell me off for my bad form?” Gary asked.

“Literally anyone watching you!” They all laugh. Ibrahim goes quiet again afterwards.

“I don’t think I’d have survived the public vote. It’s tough not knowing what people are seeing or saying, y’know?” Ibrahim continued.

The others nod. 

“Look, this is all getting a bit heavy. Hah!” Gary laughed at his own joke. Alecto’s nose twitched in her effort to hold back her own laughter, she held a hand to her mouth, but gave up, laughing not long after him. Both Ibrahim and Noah look at Gary and Alecto, both very confused. _Good one! Did he mean for it to be funny, though?_

“I swear that wasn’t intentional.” Gary explained.

“What wasn’t?” Noah stared at him.

“You know...heavy. Alecto found it funny, anyway.” Gary shifted slightly. _One of the worst things about jokes is having to explain them, if people don’t get them first time around. That’s partially why you don’t tend to make jokes, it’s a little embarrassing when that happens._

“Oh, a pun about lifting weights. Yeah, it’s good.” Ibrahim said, remaining serious.

Gary sighs.

“Never mind…” he looks at Alecto for a moment, then smiles. “How about I lift Alecto?”

_He better be kidding. Just because you’re short doesn’t mean you enjoy being lifted by people._

“Excuse me?” she raised an eyebrow, glaring at him. 

“Yeah, go on! I’ve always wanted to try and bench press someone. Are you up for it?” Gary grinned at her. _And he’s serious. People seem to enjoy trying to pick you up, just because you’re only 5 foot. Hang on. What if you tried pressing him, instead? You’ve carried some ridiculously heavy stuff before, you might be able to manage that._

“What if I lifted you instead? You’re far from the first person who’s wanted to pick me up or tried to. Just because I’m shorter than average, _does not_ mean I enjoy being picked up.” she smirked at him, going with her unexpected confidence. Her eyes glinted, the only proof of her anger apart from the momentary tone switch. 

“What? No offence, but I may be a bit on the heavy side. And I wasn’t meaning to offend you, or anything.” Gary’s grin vanished as he stared at her in shock. _What a surprise, he doesn’t like the idea himself, yet is happy to try and pick you up._

She heard laughter behind her and turned to spot Lucas, with a small smile on his face as he watched the shenanigans

“You should let her try, Gary. She might surprise you.” Noah backed her up.

“...Fine, I’m always up for a laugh.” Alecto and Gary get into position with help from Noah and Ibrahim.

“You got this, girl.” Noah winked at her.

She pushes up just like she’s done with the barbells countless times at home. Gary starts to lift up…

“Woah!”

There’s a wobble as he makes it half-way and Ibrahim goes to step in… but she pushes past it, and soon her arms are fully extended.

“I don’t believe it!” Gary grinned.

The boys cheer as they help lift Gary off of her.

“That was incredible! You really are a pro. Alright, time for another rest. Grab some water. It’s already roasting out here.” Ibrahim praised her.

“Thank goodness. Also, Alecto...I hope seeing us in action has made tonight’s decision a bit easier for you.” Gary smirked.

She felt Lucas’ arm slide around her shoulders, and she grinned up at him. The workout had made her even more certain with her decision, becoming calm without needing to try.

“My decision has been made. I’m pretty easy to predict, anyway.” she turned to leave, grabbing her water bottle with Lucas following her.

She went to the kitchen, filling up her water bottle while humming to herself. 

“Impressive. I wonder who the lucky person is.” Lucas leaned on the counter. 

“I hate being underestimated and am overly competitive, which has got me in trouble before. Also, wonder away. I’m not that difficult to puzzle out, if you just think logically. I’m sure you’ll work it out.” she teased him, flirting slightly in the process and winking at him. _You have two completely different reactions when you’re in the feels for someone, it does appear. You either go really confident, like the way you are with Lucas, or really awkward and nervous, like with Marisol and Sophie, now that you’ve puzzled that out. You do like the confidence though, it’s a nice change from your usual awkward self._

Her water bottle was full, and she took a seat at the counter, swinging her legs. Lucas sat next to her, and they shared a silence, just enjoying one another’s company. 

In the background, footsteps appear and she doesn’t look up, leaning her head on Lucas’ shoulder. 

Marisol lingers, waiting for Alecto to notice her. _She was so close, yet so far. And so happy too. She now has the luck again, leaving you doomed to another friendship couple. You feel jealous, but not of her. Of Lucas, for being lucky enough to have someone like Alecto care that much for him. You still feel the need to keep your heart so guarded, so close to your chest and locked up in chains. She’s the only one you could ever give the key, but why would she prefer you to him?_


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for 1k hits and also the 6 month anniversary of when I posted my first ever LCBC chapter! Because of both of those milestones, we have a double update this week x

All the girls are tanning themselves on the grass. Alecto finds a spot beside them. It’s quiet on the lawn, and all she can hear are crickets and some shouts from the pool. 

“It’s just too big. I can’t get a good grip on it!” Bobby tried to grab Lucas’ ball.

“It’s so smooth. It gets all slippery when it’s wet.” Lucas moved the ball away from him.

There’s the noise of plastic slapping against water. Alecto shields her eyes and watches the boys messing about with the giant beach ball. Priya rolls over lazily and adjusts her bikini so she can tan her back.

“Did you ever dream your life would turn out like this?” Priya grinned.

“What do you mean?” Hope asked.

“It’s pretty special, isn’t it? Obviously it’s not all flowers and sunshine in here, but times like this make it so good. We’ve got good weather, the sound of people having fun...and all we’ve got to do later is choose which hot guy sleeps in our bed tonight. We’re living the dream!” Priya said. _You were scared you would have had to leave instead of Hannah, but not anymore. That fear is in the past. It’s useful she messed up in letting Noah go, in a way._

“We’re so lucky to be here. I don’t want to jinx it by saying so, but I’m thankful every time I wake up and I’ve got another day in the Villa.” Alecto agreed, curling a loose lock of hair around her finger. She sat cross legged, not wishing to tan.

“It’s barely been a week but it feels like everything has changed for me already. I don’t know if I want to go back to my old job or if I want to go out there and follow my dreams.” Priya mused.

_You’re not changing your career, at most, you’ll take a year out and spend that learning new things while relaxing. Your dream is to be a doctor so you won’t give that up. Not after you spent so long training and preparing._

“I’m not going to drop everything just because I came here. I’m still sure of what I want to do. I’ve wanted to be a doctor since I was little, there’s no chance I’m giving that up.” Alecto settled her hands in her lap, feeling peaceful. 

“I’m thinking I should put some vibes out there and see what the universe brings me.” Priya grinned. _Wow. she’s giving off Rocco vibes there. Having dreams is one thing, but letting them take you over can be dangerous. It’s a good thing that you’re more pragmatic and planned than idealistic and dreamy, but you do occasionally have your moments of daydreaming._

“A ‘Cocktails and Cronuts’ truck is what that attitude gets you, if I know anything.” Lottie pouted.

“Ha! I didn’t realise how much I must sound like him right now. I hate to say it, but I think Rocco might have rubbed off on me a little bit.” Priya’s eyes turned sad, her lips tilting downwards. _It makes sense why you and Rocco didn’t work. You were complete opposites, him an extroverted, outgoing dreamer and you an introverted, quiet realist. His flights of fancy were far from your cup of tea. You dodged a bullet, come to think of it, when he left you for Marisol._

“I guess I wasn’t the only one, then.” Marisol grinned, her eyes lighting up at the mention of him. _She’s still got it pretty bad then. You do hope she finds someone new, who isn’t just using her._

“Whatever you guys did in private was your business, babe.” Lottie replied, eyeing Marisol carefully.

“I wasn’t going to go into that, but now he’s gone...do you think it’s weird that he…” Marisol started, her eyes lighting up and a flirty smile growing on her face. _You really don’t feel comfortable listening to this. If there’s a good time for distractions, now’s the time. Marisol could care about you being here, but maybe she didn’t notice._

Suddenly, Alecto hears Bobby shout, and looks over to see him trying to catch the giant beach ball. He loses his balance and falls into the pool. The splash drowns out the rest of the conversation. _You’re surprisingly happy to hear his interruption. Good. With your ears, you can only focus on one set of noise at a time._

“I don’t get it, but maybe it’s a guy thing.” Lottie snapped, her eyes flashing over to Alecto, and placed an arm around her shoulders. Alecto straightened up, unaware that the conversation had caused her to hunch forward. She welcomed Lottie’s arm, letting it stay there.

“Speaking of which...could one of you girls rub some sun cream on my back?” Marisol asked. 

“I’ll do it.” Alecto stood, uncurling her limbs, retrieving a suncream bottle and made her way over to the other end of the line. She had ended up sitting further away from Marisol than usual. She feels comfortable being closer to Marisol, and finds herself drawn to her. The slightest contact sends her thoughts into a spin. 

“Thanks, babe.” Marisol rolled onto her stomach. Alecto pours some cream into her hand and begins to gently work it into Marisol’s shoulders, being careful to give her an even coverage. She focused entirely on the task at hand, trying to ignore the fact it was Marisol she was giving what amounted to a suncream massage to. _It feels like there’s lightning in your veins, and like a light sunburn it’s kind of painful but oddly gratifying- like you’ve accomplished something you can’t explain. A small bit of physical contact lasts for a while and leaves you with a numb, pins-and-needles feeling for a while after the event._

“So you guys are like, fine after the whole Rocco thing?” Priya clarified, looking between Marisol and Alecto.

“I think so. It turns out we’ve got more in common than we thought…” Marisol’s flirty tone brings colour to Alecto’s cheeks. She nearly tipped over, she let go of Marisol’s shoulder, and plopped down next to her. She blinked as her vision spun slightly and she wobbled, waiting for it to stabilise. _You sat down far too quickly, now you’re dizzy._

She blushed deeper red, going back to her task as her vision stabilised. She presses into Marisol’s back with her thumbs, working out some of the tension in her muscles.

“That feels great.” Marisol closed her eyes in pleasure, leaning into the massage.

“I can’t believe we’ve got a full-on sun cream massage happening and none of the boys are here to make dirty jokes.” Lottie broke the silence. _You had to deal with a lot of arseholes when you were dating Sophie.Too many ‘Who’s the man in the relationship?’_

“It’s the same every time two girls get close. If we rub sun cream on each other, or I adjust your bikini…” Alecto’s eyes glinted with anger, her tone freezing the warm day. 

“Or you go into the bathroom together at a club…” Hope agreed.

“Or you french-kiss your mate just cos she’s hot and you fancy her.” Lottie said. _Um, what? Is that a reference to your kiss with her?_

Alecto’s head shot up, and her eyes darted over to Lottie. Lottie held her gaze, giving her a lazy grin.

“Kidding. But I know what you mean. It’s as though they just assume people can’t be close without getting it on.” Lottie explained. _Does she have feelings for you? Or is she just playing with you? That’s 3 people who appear to like you now. Lucas is the only one you’re fully sure of, Marisol is interested and is bisexual like you, but isn’t fully sure of coupling up with you yet. Which is fine. While Lottie, you have absolutely no clue._

Alecto moves her hands lower down Marisol’s back, making sure she’s covered evenly.

“Sun cream is pretty sexy, to be sure. Alecto is really going for it.” Priya grinned, winking at her.

Alecto blushed again, ducking her head down to hide her face. _Just being in Marisol’s presence turns you into a mess._

“It’s important to get good coverage. I don’t want to burn. And I’m not going to argue with the free massage, to be fair.” Marisol grinned. _So the fact that 3 of your fingers per hand weren’t fully straight helped your massage skills. You rather like your hands, how unusual they are and the patterns of scars on your fingers. For so long, you desperately wanted completely straight fingers and hands without scars, which were bigger to boot. But a larger handspan wouldn’t fit with your delicate, smaller size in general. Everything about you is small, including your height. Larger hands would look weird if the rest of you stayed the same. It’s taken a while for you to learn to love your hands, scars and all, but you’re getting there. It would be weirder to have straight fingers and no scars on your hands. Everyone else has hand twins, yet you don’t due to how different your hands are._

The sound of a phone beeping rings across the lawn.

“Whose was that?” Priya asked.

There’s another splash, as Bobby emerges from the pool.

“Mine!” Bobby calls out.

“His phone’s all the way in the kitchen. Reckon I can get it first?” Lottie grinned.

Alecto looks at Bobby. He nearly trips over the towel wrapped around his waist.

“You could easily make that if you’re quick. Do it!” Alecto encouraged.

“Do it. And then make him rub sun cream on Gary to get it back!” Priya agreed.

Alecto removed her hands from Marisol’s back, helping the other girl straighten up. The small contact makes the spark in her palm ignite. 

Marisol tilted her head to the side, studying Alecto. Her lips turned up when Alecto’s cheeks flushed bright red again, Marisol linking hands with her, while saying nothing. _It’s so easy to fluster her. At least it’s not just you being a mess around her, she’s as much of a mess around you. The massage was excellent though, unlike any you’ve ever had. Maybe she’s been trained?_

Lottie jumps up and runs on tiptoes over to the kitchen.

“Hey, what are you doing?” Bobby watched after her, confused.

“Too late!” She grabs the phone and runs back to where Alecto’s sitting.

“Now, let’s see what this is all about.”

“What if he doesn’t want you to look through his phone?” Alecto’s tone swapped in an instant, the ice in her voice cutting through Lottie and causing her to stop, staring at her with wide green eyes.

“I think that’s crossing the line, to be honest. I had a guy go through my messages when I wasn’t looking once and I broke up with him straight away.” Marisol agreed.

“Yeah. Étienne used to go through my messages all the time, and look through my phone. I was trapped by the soulmate connection he had manifested by speaking my soulmate words. I’m so thankful I kept resisting saying his soulmate words, that would’ve completely trapped me.” Alecto found herself confessing without a prompt. _Usually people have to have a certain level of friendship to unlock that information. Yet relationships go so quickly here._

“Woah, for sure. That’s such a red flag. Um, you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to but ...is that why you wear a bracelet all the time? I wasn’t really going to read his messages. I can’t even unlock it. But I liked Priya’s idea…” Lottie said.

Alecto nodded, looking over to Marisol who squeezed her hand. 

Bobby comes over, still dripping wet from the pool.

“You are such a magpie, Lottie. Can I have it back?” Bobby held his hand out.

“Should I? Or should the guys have to do something first?” Lottie smirked at him.

“Maybe he should massage Gary?” Alecto’s voice floated off, causing Bobby to have to move closer to hear.

“Er, what?” He looked confused.

“You heard Alecto. If you want the phone back, you have to give Gary a massage.” Lottie winked.

“Um, OK? I think he wouldn’t mind that, to be honest. He’s always talking about how sore he is after a workout, and we all know I’ve got the nicest hands.” Bobby agreed.

“That was easier than I thought it would be. Last question, then… can I watch?” Lottie grinned.

“Babe, whatever turns you on.” Bobby grinned back.

“I’m going to hold you to that.” Lottie said.

“Can I have my phone back now?” Bobby asked.

“Sure, just let me read this text first...guys, I got a text!” Lottie calls out.

The Islanders gather around.

Gary looks at Marisol.

“There’s sun cream everywhere. Are you girls giving out sun cream massages?” He asked.

“We’ll get to that in a minute. Listen to this first. Islanders, before tonight’s recoupling the girls will have a chance to get to know the boys better. Each girl will take a boy of her choice out on a date this afternoon.” Lottie read out.

All the girls cheer with excitement.

“It’s date night, baby! Or date afternoon, at least.” Hope grinned. _Dates make you feel nervous. In part due to the fact you haven’t been on many, you were with Sophie so long._

Alecto’s phone beeps.

“Guys! I got a text!” she calls out, pushing a hint of warmth into her voice.

“Is it you? Are you going first?” Hope asked.

“Alecto, you will go on the first date of the afternoon. Please choose a guy to go on a date with, and then get ready to leave the Villa.” Alecto read out. _Oh crap. You’re first! You know who you’ll pick, that’s easy._

“This is so perfect for you, hun. You’ve been single for like, less than a day and you’re gonna get back on the horse again.” Lottie squeezed her hand.

_You’ve already been on one date with Lucas, and it’s an easy choice. Hopefully he hasn’t got tired of you already._

“Alecto? Alecto! What are you doing?” Hope prodded her in the arm, sharply.

“Ow! What?” Alecto rubbed her arm, sending Hope a glare. _That really, really hurt! What does she have at the ends of her fingers, talons?_

“You were just, like, lost in thought.” Hope explained.

“Oh, sorry.” She shifted from foot to foot, looking at her hands.

“Who are you taking on your date?” Hope asked.

“That should be pretty obvious, I hope. Lucas, of course.” her voice turned slightly dreamy, she sent Lucas a smile.

Lucas opens his mouth, but can’t think of what to say.

“I’m flattered. I didn’t think I’d be the first boy chosen.” Lucas grinned. _Aww, that’s cute. Having him be anxious and awkward too does make it easier on you, you don’t have to put up a face._

“That’s who I was going to pick!” Marisol protested, her mouth tilting down. Her voice wobbled slightly towards the end of her sentence, she dodged eye contact with Alecto. _You’re not stepping aside for her this time. He likes you, not her. Even though you do feel pity for her that she was the only girl not chosen when Henrik and Lucas chose who they wanted to go on dates with._

“Come on, babe. Let’s get dressed up and go drink wine in the daytime.” Lucas offered his arm to Alecto, and she took it, starting to walk with him to the dressing room. 

Marisol watched them leave, torturing herself by viewing what she couldn’t have.

“I’m not sure what you expected would happen. Those two have had eyes for each other and only each other for a while now.” Lottie shook her head, giving Marisol a disapproving look. Marisol looked away, staring at her hands. _You should be happy that Alecto is happy. Not trying to sabotage it. Yes, you’re fed up of being in friendship couples or couples that fall apart. But Lucas didn’t even pick you, and hasn’t even shown you any interest in general. And if you had gone before her and picked him, that would hurt her. So Lottie was actually right for once. Besides, she’s amazing, who wouldn’t pick her over you? She’s like the stars in the sky, hiding in the daytime but coming out at night and surprising everyone at their beauty. You’ve spent time watching the stars at night, even wished on one when you were younger, when you believed in soulmates and love. Having your heart broken burnt the part of you who believed, but not entirely. Being around Alecto causes the ashes of your previous set of dreams to start to repair itself. She makes you want to believe that love is possible and can happen, again._

Lost in her thoughts, she didn’t notice her phone beep in her hand until Bobby put his hand on her shoulder, smiling down at her.

“Looks like we’re going on a date. I’m aware you didn’t exactly want to pick me, but we can at least try and enjoy this...let’s call it a friendship date or something.” He tapped his chin, looking thoughtful. He flashed her a smile, linking arms with her. 

“Okay. I...can do that. Thank you.” Marisol nodded, giving him a wobbly smile. _It could be worse, and at least both of you are on the same page here. Besides, waiting for someone to show interest in you when they’re not going to isn’t a great idea. You’ll eventually find your person, you hope. Being in a friendship couple might actually be better than one that’s doomed to fall apart. Or daring to dream and getting damaged again. Staying guarded is likely safer for you, but is safety always what you need? Don’t you secretly wish to dance in the rain and take risks, or will you stay safe for the rest of your life?_

To her relief, the dressing room is empty. She gets ready on autopilot, forcing herself to stop thinking, just this once. _You should be happy that your best friend is happy. Not whatever this is._

Marisol takes a seat in front of the mirror, brushing through her long ombré hair. She noticed a bracelet in front of her, one she recognised as Alecto’s. She picked it up, spinning it in her hand and slipping it onto her wrist. She studies it, looking at the emerald green stones. _You don’t usually wear green. And there’s no point to leaving your soulmate words uncovered, anyway. Alecto usually keeps her stuff so neat and tidies it away so maybe she left this for you? To cheer you up, as she could likely tell you were off. You seriously don’t deserve her._

She stood, checking herself in the mirror for a last time as she leaves, taking in a deep breath.

Alecto walks through a beautiful vineyard with Lucas, with the afternoon sun behind her.

A picnic hamper filled with wine and food is waiting on a table underneath the vines.

“Look at this place! It reminds me of the time I stayed at my friend’s parents’ chateau in the south of France and they made their own wine.” He checks himself, shifting on his feet and wincing. _He’s so conscious about being called posh that he tries to not mention things that might give that impression. People call you posh too, but you’re definitely working class. You’re just well spoken and can pass for middle class due to the people you grew up around. Going to a church school with a majority of middle class people for both primary and secondary school has definitely influenced that. You’re not religious in the slightest, your parents pretended to be in order to get Skye into the primary school, which opened the door to you and your twin. That was back when your parents were actually together and you lived with your siblings. Now, you haven’t seen half of your family since you were 14._

“I mean… it’s not as posh as it sounds. No-one looks posh when they’re up to their knees in grapes.” He struggles, shifting awkwardly.

“You don’t need to apologise for that. I like you for you, not your ‘poshness’. Believe it or not, people assume that I’m posh myself, when I come from a working class background. The situation isn’t the same, but I don’t judge people by their class, I base my judgement on how they are as a person, not things they have no control over.” Alecto gives him a warm smile, her eyes glittering in the sunshine, stars appearing to explode in them. 

He grins and squeezes her hand, looking relieved. He gestures to the table.

“Shall we sit down?” 

Both of them sit and Lucas begins to pour both of them some wine.

“What should we drink to?” He asked.

“To our first date.” Alecto gave him a shy smile.

“The first of many, perhaps? I’ve got to ask. Why did you choose me for your date? Also Marisol acted strange when you picked me, do you by any chance know what that’s about? I’m a little bit curious.” Lucas said, making eye contact with her. _Two questions, two easy answers._

“First question, I wanted to get to know you, you fascinate me slightly. Maybe as you’re the only one I feel myself having chemistry with. I’m not used to having people like me, in this way or at all. I haven’t been on many dates, once Sophie and I started dating we were all each other needed, then when we split up, I wanted to stay away from dating for a while. It didn’t end badly, I just wanted to get to know myself properly and to take myself out for treats. I lost sight of who I was when I ‘dated’ Étienne first, then once I was free, I slipped into a relationship with Sophie so quickly. I don’t regret that, but I needed some time to find the real me.” She took time to catch her breath, managing a small smile before continuing. “As for Marisol, well she hasn’t had the best luck in here. So I guess she was hoping to pick you, to see if there was anything there. She was hurt at not being picked at all for the dates when you and Henrik came in, that did hurt her. So having me beat her to it ruined her plan. I don’t regret it, I’m not going to step back for her again, especially when I think there’s a chance at something real, an ‘us’. I do feel sorry for her, I left a bracelet for her, I hope she found it. Just my presence appears to be enough to calm her sometimes, so I thought one of my bracelets might work similarly. I might be seeing stuff that you don’t and letting my heart take me over...feel free to let me know if I’m overstepping...but I feel we really have something special. Or might be able to achieve that, oh dear I’m rambling on, you probably want me to shut up already.” She blushed, clamping her lips shut. _Don’t scare him off, please!_

“First off, I enjoy listening to you talk. I feel our chemistry too, I’ve felt it since the start. I understand wanting to know yourself well enough to feel comfortable to date, that makes sense. You fascinate me also, it feels like you have many sides to you and I’m interested in seeing who you are past the walls you maintain. I respect you for not stepping aside for her, she might be your best friend, but you deserve a chance at a proper relationship too. You can’t keep setting fire to yourself to keep her warm. It was kind of you to leave her a bracelet, hopefully that helps her and she appreciates it. She has had a tough time of it, but so have you. I understand her frustration there, it must hurt. The fact you’re not making a scene about it is also good, you’re being so calm and mature about it. You deserve to show emotions too, so don’t feel afraid.” Lucas caught her hands gently, causing her to look up at him. Her fringe was starting to come loose from the clips, so she removed them, combing through it quickly. She clipped the clips to her braid for safe keeping, smiling softly.

“What do you prefer, fringe or no fringe? As I don’t see you have it free often.”

He asked.

“Fringe, definitely. It keeps sticking to my forehead so I keep clipping it back. I feel strange when I clip it back, like I’m a completely different person. Which likely seems odd.” She laughed. 

He nodded. “That whole Rocco situation was so hard to watch. How are you feeling now he’s gone?” 

“I’m making up for lost time. I want to go on dates and meet someone I really like. The thing with Rocco was a full on trainwreck from start to finish...I have no idea what I was thinking that day I let him draw me in! Then the Lottie kiss likely made it fall apart further.” She laughed nervously, messing with her bracelet. She looked up at him through her fringe, it was slightly too long. 

“Maybe you already have...the other guys thought you two might be a good match at first. None of us guys knew he was playing all the girls like that. I wasn’t going to slate the guy in public or anything, but I didn’t think what he did was OK.” Lucas explained. He stops to refill her glass, and offers her some nibbles.

“I felt that you had my back, along with Hope. It surprised me that Marisol also did, but at the same time I did show her kindness. And Lottie...she went far too far. She appears to be mellowing slightly, she talked to me earlier and apologised for the way she handled things. I’m not entirely sure yet whether to forgive her, I can’t be around someone who lashes out at people to their face. Like you said, slating Marisol or Rocco in public wouldn’t have been the right path to follow, we’re very much on the same page. When Priya took Gary, I was scared that I’d end up leaving, so I had to have a backup plan. Which sounds so cold, I know. But I didn’t want to join the Noah/Hannah/Hope mess, Bobby wasn’t my type in the slightest, Rahim was too quiet for even me and I was having major doubts about Gary. There was a tiny spark, but that died down quickly. Which left me with Rocco. It was already wrong, having to change who I am to appeal to him, so I wouldn’t be vulnerable. So we really weren’t a great match, that’s for sure. I was glad to still be in the villa, but there was a persistent lack of feelings for him. Or any of the guys, if I’m being blunt. I had feelings for Lottie, but that won’t go anywhere. Also you didn’t see me and Rocco as a good match, then? I’m interested as to why.” she kept her voice stable, finding herself pouring out her heart to him.

“You value loyalty for one, I can tell that. He was more of a free spirit, and less of the type to have a clear cut life plan. He was more the kind to go with the flow, but you’re more organised and careful. I could tell that you were holding so much of yourself back around him, too. I understand part of that was guilt over the kiss, but I don’t blame you for that. You aimed to tell both him and Bobby, it really wasn’t your fault that Lottie dodged the subject. So I do respect him for dealing with the news well, that was an unexpected show of maturity. I understand why you have doubts with getting closer to Lottie again, just keep thinking it over. You’ll be fine if you just choose to remain civil though, you’re close to Hope and Marisol anyway. It appears that Henrik and I had excellent timing then. I wanted to try my luck, knowing what I do about your personality and how alike we are in general.” he reached over, linking hands with her. Just that simple act caused a sizzling spark to ignite in her palm. She welcomed the feeling, like a little spark of joy. _Yep. All of that is definitely true. He doesn’t blame you for it either, excellent. He knows you so well, no one else noticed any of this._

“It wasn’t all bad, though. I picked up our spark so quickly, which was such a relief. I was starting to feel broken, like I’d forever be unlucky in love. Like Sophie was the one I was supposed to be with, and I should have moved halfway across the world and restarted everything, repeating undergrad in California and then going on to medical school. But doing that wouldn’t be me, and I’d regret leaving my family and everything behind to follow her. I’m not the type to abandon everything to go after someone, and she understood that. We’re still close friends also.” she bit her lip, clearing her throat. “The worst part about the whole mess was how similar it was to Étienne and Andromeda, it brought back so many old memories. And how if they had just talked to me...said anything...there wouldn’t even have been any need for all that shit. So the fact they weren’t honest with me did hurt a lot. Marisol was far easier for me to understand where she was coming from and to forgive her. I know she’s struggling again now, but I’ll do my best to support her but can’t put myself last constantly.” She ducked her head, looking down at their clasped hands. She felt tears in the backs of her eyes, and sniffed, wobbling her lip.

“I’m sorry...I don’t know why I started off talking about the Villa. This should be some time for us to get away from all of that.” Lucas caught hold of her chin, tilting her head up to face him. He gave her a smile, squeezing her hand with his other hand. She released silent tears, giving him a wobbly smile.

“I’m sorry too...I’m not usually this much of a mess. I’ve been holding back my emotions for so long, when I was friends with Andromeda and Étienne I felt uncomfortable allowing myself to feel stuff, as I knew the people Andromeda was friends with would pounce on it. It was easier to become cold and to pretend I felt nothing at all. Also I kind of felt like I deserved it... I....I deserved that treatment. Talking this through with people who care does help, Abby is also good at helping me work through this. The fact I keep opening up is such a big deal, and maybe I’m not broken and I can heal.” Her voice shook slightly, but she pushed through, pouring out her heart to him. She removed her glasses, watching him through tear-filled eyes.

“You’re not broken. Healing from your past can be hard. You didn’t deserve it, please don’t blame yourself. I know I don’t know what they did, but I don’t have to as I can tell it impacted you. It’s important to let go every once in a while, or you’ll explode. I’m honoured to know you feel that comfortable with me. You can always talk to me, I’ll be your listening ear if you need it.” Lucas wiped her eyes, keeping his voice calm. She nodded, and they fell into a comfortable silence. Eventually her breathing stabilised.

“Do you want to see some magic?” he asked. She nodded, giving him a small smile.

He takes both of Alecto’s hands, and looks into her eyes. He smiles at her, and it’s instantly both dazzling and sincere. For a moment, there’s just Alecto and him, and his hands touching hers.

“Isn’t this magical?” The smoulder he gives off makes her cheeks flush, and she laughs, her attention fully captivated by him.

“Wow. that might be the smoothest thing I’ve ever seen.” Alecto felt her lips twitch, allowing herself to form a wide grin.

“But it worked, right?” Lucas grinned back, teasing her slightly.

“You betcha.” she laughed. He let go of her hands, and she put her glasses back on, relieved at how quick her tear ducts appeared to dry up this time.

“You know, I’m glad we’re doing this. You’re the most interesting girl here. I’ve been really looking forward to getting to know you, the real you, behind the walls you put up. I’ve got a question that I think tells a lot about someone.” _Hmm. Interesting. You do enjoy testing your brain._

“Go for it.” She encouraged him.

“What do you think is your best feature?” He asked. _Oh shit. You don’t know. You’re still in the process of self love here._

She tapped the table, trying to make herself think.

“Umm...hang on. I don’t really have that much of a personality, and I do blend into a crowd well in terms of looks, so neither of those. I’m loyal though, and I can be cold and hard to get to know at first but once you have me in your corner, you have me for life. It takes a pretty major fuck up for me to let someone go. I do rub people up the wrong way, as most of the time they don’t care to push past the spikes and get through into my sweet inner core. I just compared myself to a pineapple...oh my goodness... that’s cheesy. Or fruity, I suppose.” she laughed, hiding her mouth with her hand. Her cheeks flushing red before continuing. “Oh dear, do excuse the weirdness. I have a small social circle as a result, which is fine by me. I’m also quite honest, sometimes to my detriment. I’ve had to hold my tongue multiple times, especially during Roccogate. And I care about people, so if someone hurts someone I care about, they’ll face my full wrath. I haven’t properly blew up at someone here yet, but you’ll know when it happens.” Alecto explained, clasping her hands together and leaning her chin on them.

“Interesting. You actually do remind me of a pineapple, that’s the perfect metaphor. Don’t apologise for being weird, there’s nothing wrong with that. I agree that you’re loyal though. You’ve never been cold to me, or put up many walls. I respect you for being honest, which proves what you just said there. But you need to stop putting yourself down, there’s nothing wrong with liking yourself. Easier said than done, I know. You _are_ pretty, just because you’re different to the others doesn’t make it a bad thing. I’m not only attracted to you because of your looks, but something that stands out is your freckles, and your smaller, more delicate features. Everything fits well together, you’re beautiful for your differences, not in spite of them. I admire you for letting yourself be different.” he finishes, clamping his mouth shut and shifting awkwardly. _Wait. Does he feel like he said too much, there?_

Alecto reached over, taking his hand.

“What do you think is your best feature, then?” she asked, stroking the back of his hand.

“I also think it’s my loyalty. I’ll do anything for my friends. That’s something we share.” he said.

“I thought you were going to say ‘my incredible wit’.” She teased him, delighting in the grin he flashed at her. _Yay, success!_

“So that’s what _you_ think my best feature is?” he studied her carefully, sending her that smoulder again. She felt slightly light headed, and tried to calm her racing heart.

“No, I think that’s what you _think_ your best feature is.” She quipped back. He laughs, causing her to echo him, not covering her mouth this time.

“First dates can be a bit tricky, can’t they?” he grinned at her.

“Yup.” she nodded.

Lucas passes her some more nibbles. She takes a few breadsticks, starting to nibble daintly on them. 

“This food is great.” Alecto gives him a thumbs up, her mouth full with a breadstick.

He shakes the last of the drops of wine into her glass.

“I think we might be getting to the end of it though. Which means it’s time for me to pop the big question.” He waits for her to finish her mouthful.

“Recoupling?” She confirms.

“That’s the one. What are you thinking about the recoupling this evening?” he asked.

“I...want to couple up with you. If...if that’s something you want to do?” she stuttered in her urgency to tell him the truth and blushed. _You’re supposed to be growing out of that! Hopefully he’s not put off by the awkwardness._

“Yeah, of course.” He’s smiling from ear to ear. “Let’s make it official.” Lucas rummages through the empty hamper. “I guess we’re out of time. And snacks.” _Wait. He’s going to leave it there? Looks like you’ll have to do the work yourself._

Alecto turns to look at Lucas.

“Although we might have time for one more thing…” Lucas turns and gazes into her eyes. She leans in closer. The empty wine bottle rolls onto the ground as she knocks it over. Lucas touches a finger beneath her chin and draws her lips to his in a long,lingering kiss. He nibbles on her lower lip, then whispers in her ear. “You drive me wild.”

“Oh...I do, do I?” She grins from ear to ear, her eyes lighting up.

Lucas’s mouth curls into a half-smile.

“You make my head spin…” Her voice goes dreamy, losing focus. She loses sight of everything apart from the man across from her.

“And turn, too, apparently. You had a similar effect on me. I knew you were the one I wanted the moment I first saw you.” Lucas looks satisfied with himself. _Rocco didn’t stand a chance in the slightest. You fell for Lucas so quickly it was like you slipped on rolling oranges on the ground and he saved you from falling. That’s such an odd metaphor, damn it._

The shadows of vines stretch out as the sun moves around.

“I suppose we really are out of time, now. But that was so worth being late back for.” 

Alecto watches as Lucas carefully picks up the empty bottle and the glasses and puts them back in the hamper. He takes her hand in his and walks her back to the Villa. She can’t stop smiling, her cheeks starting to ache. She feels like she’s walking on air.

All the other Islanders are in the kitchen when she walks into the Villa.

“Looks like we’re the last couple back. Everyone else has got changed already.” she whispers into his ear, having to stretch slightly.

“Maybe they needed to cool off after their hot dates?” Lucas whispered back.

Lottie calls out to her.

“Alecto, come over here! We’re all having fresh lemonade. Bobby’s making it!” Lottie gave her a knowing smile, tilting her head to the side.

“I bet it’s amazing.” Lucas said.

The kitchen is covered in sugar and lemon peel and the lemonade smells delicious. Lucas fills a glass for both of them. 

“Have you been doing this all afternoon, mate?” Lucas asks.

“What? You think no-one chose me for a date? Come off it. Me and Marisol had a great time.” Bobby grinned. _Phew, that’s a relief. Hopefully she’s okay._

“It sounds like everyone had a good date, actually. We went to this orange grove and picked fresh oranges.” Lottie said.

“It reminded me of the first time I ever went on a date, actually. That was on a fruit farm too.” Gary said.

“How were the oranges?” Alecto’s voice was still dreamy and wistful and Lottie nudged her in the side. _Damn it, you must be being so obvious right now! But you don’t care for once._

“Incredible. That was the best bit, to be honest.” Gary continues. 

Lottie looks at him in horror.

“I’m joking. The company was all right too.” Gary grinned at Lottie, putting his arm around her.

“How was yours, Alecto?” Lottie asked.

Suddenly she can feel all the Islanders’ eyes on her.

“Our date was...interesting.” Being the centre of attention causes her words to slip away from her, and she stutters again. She scans around for Marisol, not spotting her.

“What does that mean?” Hope probed her.

“Just that it was good to spend some time with Lucas. And that’s all I’m going to say.” She gains a little stability in her voice, falling back into her quiet tone. She breaks eye contact, leaning against the counter and sipping her lemonade, remaining as natural as possible.

“I know there’s something you’re not telling us...Look at how she’s standing...and how her eyes are so bright...Her eyes don’t usually have sparks in them....Classic signs of someone with something to hide…” Marisol’s heart is clearly not invested in her words, her voice keeps breaking in the middle of her sentences. Alecto looks up, spotting her towards the back of the group, partially hidden behind Noah. She notices a flash of green, and recognises her bracelet on Marisol’s right wrist. Marisol’s eyes are slightly red-rimmed and she keeps shifting from foot to foot, fiddling with a loose lock of hair. Alecto makes eye contact with her for a moment, and Marisol quickly breaks it, staring at the floor. _She’s clearly not doing well. She’s had a tough time recently, you do feel sorry for her. It can’t just be about you picking Lucas though._

“Come on now, let’s give Alecto a break. All I want to do is take five minutes and drink this lemonade. We’ve still got the recoupling this evening. I think there’s going to be plenty of time to talk about who likes who then.” Noah points out. 

Marisol disappears completely behind Noah, eventually turning on her heel and leaving behind the happy group, rushing upstairs to the roof terrace. She takes a seat, curling herself into a ball, hiding her face behind her knees. _First, she was late back, then she came back so clearly in love. She has liked him since he came in though. He clearly likes her back too. Feeling like this isn’t you, not really. Why are you this jealous? You took Rocco from her, she deserves to be happy. You can’t believe you didn’t notice during the voting for the double dumping, but your head was so consumed by Rocco that you lost sight of anything else._

She feels the bench go down slightly, and doesn’t look up. She feels an arm around her shoulders, and a familiar strawberry scented perfume. The silence lasts between them, and she feels her racing heart begin to calm.

“You don’t have to speak to me. I wanted to check on you, see if you were okay.” Alecto’s voice is soft and soothing. _Why is she the only person who can calm you like this? She’s perfect for you, her natural cold body temperature cools you down when you get too hot headed. You’re so scared though, and want to force yourself to just stay best friends with her. What if she breaks your heart, like Olivia, your first and only girlfriend? That would seriously destroy you._


	27. Chapter 27

Alecto stands, making her way to the dressing room with Marisol following behind her. The air in the dressing room is filled with excitement and a lemon-scented mist. The girls put the final touches to their makeup and hair as they prepare for tonight’s recoupling. 

“Anyway, Hope, have you decided who you’re coupling up with then?” Priya asks. Hope fakes a laugh and rolls her eyes at the girls.

“Very funny. I’m actually a bit nervous!” Hope moves from foot to foot.

“There’s nothing to be nervous about. We all know how it works. You pick Noah. Then he picks you. Then you pick him again. Then he’ll…” Priya teases.

“We get it.” Lottie cut in.

“You never know, this place is full of surprises.” Hope replied.

“At least no one’s going to be left out this time.” Priya said.

“That’s right! Imagine if everyone ended the night coupled up with the boy they liked!” Hope grinned.  _ Well, likely everyone apart from Marisol. But it will depend on order for the recoupling. _

“As long as no one else gets to him first.” Lottie pouted, glancing in Alecto’s direction.  _ This again? You definitely won’t, your heart is set on Lucas. _

“OK girls, are we ready?” Marisol asks, putting on a brave face with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. Alecto squeezed her hand, giving her a smile when Marisol turned to her.  _ She’s been so quiet, but you can check on her later.  _

The girls give a cheer.

“Then it’s time to go out there and get your man.” The girls giggle and file out into the night. Marisol and Alecto walk side by side, bringing up the end of the line. The girls take their seats around the fire pit as the boys arrive. They jostle each other playfully as they get into a line. Lucas spots Alecto and flashes her a smile.  _ This feels like a dream. To think that very soon, you’ll be happy with someone you care about by your side.  _

A beeping phone cuts through the chit chat and the Islanders fall silent.

Hope stands up and turns to face the boys, her eyes firmly on Noah. The two can’t stop smiling at each other. Alecto feels herself float away, struggling to stay focused. Her racing heart is consuming her.  _ What if Marisol picks before you? Then what will you do? _

She drops Marisol’s hand, wiping her sweaty palms in her dress and clasping her hands together.

Noah walks up to Hope and sweeps her up in his arms to cheers from the boys. Alecto leans into Marisol and whispers. “Hope and Noah are such a fairytale couple.”

“Hashtag relationship goals, am I right?” Marisol whispers back, her breath tickling Alecto’s ear.

The hubbub dies down and the Islanders wait to see who will be next up. There’s another beep. It’s Alecto’s phone. She stands up and faces the boys. Lucas mouths a ‘wow’. She can’t help but smile, her eyes twinkling.  _ The odds are in your favour! You can finally be with someone who has a mutual attraction to you. _

“A lot’s happened this past week which is why I’ve thought long and hard about who I want to couple with. This boy is real. What you see is what you get and I’ve been loving what I’ve seen. I think we’d make a great team. We get each other and I can talk to him about anything. I just think we’d work well together. I want to see where this could go. So the boy I want to couple up with is...Lucas.” she feels strangely confident, maintaining eye contact with the boys. Lucas smiles and strides up to her to give her a hug, taking a seat beside her. 

Hope squeezes her hand and moves towards her ear. “We’ve both done well, I’m super happy for you.” 

Lucas puts his arm around her shoulder and she moves closer to him, leaning her head on his shoulder. 

The remaining boys huddle closer and a beep breaks the silence. Lottie is up next, she takes a breath, stands up and positions herself in front of Gary. His lips curl into a smile.

“As all the girls know, Girl Code means a lot to me…” Alecto glances towards Marisol who rolls her eyes.

“Which is why this decision has been so tough. But I have to follow my heart. And the tea leaves. And they both point in the same direction. Which is why the boy I want to couple up with is...Gary.”

A grin appears on Gary’s face and he runs over to Lottie and gives her a cuddle.

“You know tea leaves are never wrong, Lozza.” She rolls her eyes and he kisses her to cheers from the Islanders. Lottie and Gary sit down.

Alecto misses Priya’s speech entirely, zoning back in to see Priya and Rahim take a seat. Her eyes look over to Marisol, the only single girl. Being last to pick was clearly making her nervous, Marisol looks very pale. She is on her feet before her phone beeps.

“The boy I’m coupling up with can be a bit of a clown. But I guess I don’t really have any other options...This is shaping up to be a bit of a social experiment...The boy I choose to couple up with is...Bobby.” Marisol finishes, her voice going up and down during her speech. She finishes with a wide grin, only Alecto noticed it wobbling slightly as she fought to keep her composure.  _ They’re coupled up for the second time in a row. The first time didn’t exactly go great either, guess she’s stuck in another friendship couple. She clearly struggled with her speech too, you do feel pity for her.  _

“I object to the use of the word clown.” Bobby puts a hand to his chest and opens his mouth wide in mock horror, his eyes glinting playfully.

The islanders applaud and Bobby skips over to Marisol and plants a kiss on her cheek. 

“Social experiment? That sounds kinky.” Bobby teased her.

“Using humour as a defense mechanism. Textbook.” Marisol’s eyes glint at him, smiling despite herself.

“There’s a textbook? I learn something new every day.” Bobby quipped back.  _ He’s good at cheering her up, or at least trying to. A lesser person might get frustrated at her saying she didn’t have any other options, but at least Bobby gets it.  _

Marisol sighs, her eyes darting over to Alecto and Lucas briefly, and they sit down together. 

The recoupling is over and the Islanders sit around the fire pit in their new couples. Everything appears newly calm and peaceful, and the couples are mostly stable.

Just as Alecto finishes changing, Lucas walks in. He stands in the doorway, just looking at her.

“Hey.” she gives him a soft smile, maintaining eye contact with him as she brushes her hair.

“Hey. I hope being coupled up with me is an improvement on your last couple…” he shifts slightly.  _ Aww, he’s a little nervous. _

“Are you kidding? You’re definitely better than Rocco. He left me single.” She gave him a look of utter disgust at the mere mention of Rocco.

“Exactly. Don’t think I could be much worse than that. I feel bad that I’m here treading on someone’s toes, but I guess that’s what it’s about, right? There’s a bit of me that kind of loves the drama. It makes everything feel so exciting! You know what I mean?” he asked.

“I guess…” she scrunched up her face slightly.

He smiles and looks her in the eye. 

“Look, I just want to say...thanks for picking me, yeah?” 

“I was always going to pick you, there was no doubt in my mind there. The only thing that could possibly have scuppered my plans would be Marisol picking before me, but being second to pick was very lucky! Looks like you’re my lucky charm.” she winked at him, cringing slightly at her cheesiness.

“Well, it’s what I was hoping for, obviously. But you never know, do you? Looks like I am your lucky charm then.” he teased her back. 

“Nope. You never know what I’m going to do next.” Her voice dripped with sarcasm, making him laugh.

“Anyway, I’m ready. Let’s head down.” He holds his arm out to her, and she links arms with him. She nearly runs into Marisol as she exits the dressing room, but Marisol backs away, making eye contact with her. Her eyes are red-rimmed and vulnerable without her glasses, she had disappeared shortly after the recoupling. Marisol turns and disappears into the dressing room, breaking eye contact. 

Alecto finds herself watching after her, rooted to the spot. 

“It’ll likely be easier if you two sleep on it, then talk to her tomorrow. I’m aware you’re worried about her, but a good night’s sleep does help. She’s had quite a tough week, I do feel for her.” Lucas said, starting to lead her to the bedroom. She nodded and followed him.

The bedroom is bubbling with chatter from the Islanders who are carefully sizing up the sleeping arrangements. Marisol joined them not long after and comes up beside Alecto.

“Aww, don’t you look cute in your PJs! I just want to give you a cuddle.” Marisol gives her a cuddle and they laugh. Marisol’s eyes sparkle slightly, beneath the sadness taking her over, a soft smile appearing on her lips as a result of the hug.  _ As if by magic, you’ve helped ease her sadness a little bit. That’s a relief. _

Lottie and Gary are getting ready for bed.

“Not that side! The other side.” Lottie grumbles.

“But I always sleep on that side.” Gary complains.

“Not anymore, move over. I need to be facing true north.” Lottie said.

“I swear…” Gary chucks a pillow at her but she dodges it. Lottie laughs and grabs the extra pillow.

“You’re not getting it back.” She jumps into bed and Gary lies flat beside her, pillowless, making sad faces at Lottie. She chucks the pillow at Gary’s face. He tucks it under his head and grins. 

“Guys, I got a text! Islanders, the Hideaway is open. Please pick one couple to spend the night there.” Lucas reads out.

“It should be Hope and Noah!” Lottie suggests.  _ Hmm, that does mean you’ll be snore free that way. Well, not quite, Lottie also snores. _

“I reckon it should be Alecto and Lucas!” Marisol winks at her.  _ An olive branch then? That’s kind of her. A peace offering.  _

“Do you want to go, Alecto?” Hope asked.

“No, you can go.” she smiles at her.

“Amazing!” Hope’s face lights up.

“Haha, thanks guys. This is great.” Noah said.

“Step this way, hot stuff.” Hope and Noah walk off to the Hideaway, hand in hand. The other Islanders whistle and cheer. Alecto hears a click as the door closes behind them.

“Right, time for us to go to bed I guess.” Alecto and Lucas settle into the last remaining bed.

“Wow, today has been full on. Pretty happy with how it’s turned out, though!” he whispers.

“Yeah, for sure.” her eyes go soft as she studies him.

“Oi, you two, quiet. Some of us need to get our beauty sleep, yeah? Not everyone is as naturally blessed as you two.” Lottie called over. Alecto blushes at Lottie’s comment.  _ Wait. ‘Naturally blessed’? Is she calling you pretty? _

“Alright, alright. Hopefully we’ll get a couple of days of peace and quiet now.” Lucas finishes.

As the lights go out, Alecto’s eyes shut, and she drifts off to sleep easily.  __


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I also wrote a oneshot this week, so feel free to check that out x  
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/29294895

Lucas lies on his side facing Alecto. The duvet provides cover from the rest of the room. Luckily, though, it’s quiet this morning. The others are already out in the garden, enjoying breakfast in the sun.

“Do we really have to get up?” Alecto complained, her voice muffled by the pillow she was face first into.

“It’s so nice when everyone else is outside.” Lucas agreed, a smile crossing his face. 

“We could stay in bed a little longer.” she rolled over and yawned, her hair spreading over the pillow.

“I was hoping you’d say that, if I’m honest. I’ve been waiting to get you alone for ages. Now it’s like I can’t get enough. What about you? How do you feel about things now?” Lucas asked.

“Well, I got what I wanted! I was planning to choose you. So I’m happy with how it all went.” she grinned, her smile faltering slightly as she remembered. “ I don’t regret choosing you in the slightest, but...I still feel sorry for Marisol, though.”

“You are, huh? I’ve been thinking it might be nice to couple up with you.” he mused.

“Really?” Despite herself, she was slightly surprised, watching him with widened eyes.  _ Having someone want to choose you is still a novel thing, huh? Maybe you’ll learn to love yourself eventually. _

“Definitely. Anyway, I think things might finally be going right for us around here.” he finished.

“Looks that way.” she turned towards him, leaning on her arm.

Lucas cradles her face in both his hands, threading his fingers into her hair. She tilts her head into a kiss. Just before their lips touch, she pulls back teasingly.

“I just felt a spark!” Lucas grinned, his eyes sparking.

“Maybe later there’ll be more sparks.” Alecto winked.

“Yes, please.”

Suddenly, Bobby strolls in!

“What’s going on in here, huh?” Bobby gave them a playful grin.  _ And the moment is gone. _

“Bobby, do you mind?” Lucas stared at him.

“Sorry, sorry! Just came to get my body spray. Did you ever notice how each bed has a different picture over it? Palm tree, ice cream cone…” he continued, tapping his chin.

“Bobby!” Lucas glared at him.

Bobby heads off to shower, but they can still hear him shouting. 

“Just try not to imagine me flossing my crevices while you cuddle!”  _ Oh dear, now you can’t get that image out of your head. _

Soon she hears the shower running and Bobby merrily singing...but the mood in the bedroom has changed.

“Well, there goes my idea.” Lucas looked slightly miffed.

“What idea?” she tapped her chin, looking interested.

“Maybe you’ll see, another time.” Lucas grinned at her.

“We should probably get ready for the day.” she sighed, moving from the bed and making her way to the dressing room.

Just then, she sees Lottie standing over her shoulder in the mirror.

“Lottie! You terrified me.” She put a hand to her heart.

“Sorry. Can I borrow your moisturiser?” Lottie’s expression is hard to read. 

“Sure. Here you go.” Alecto hands Lottie a heavy tub of lotion.

“Thanks.” Lottie leans over Alecto’s shoulder to share the mirror as she puts moisturiser on her face.

“There we go.” Her hair brushes Alecto’s shoulder, smelling of sandalwood.

“I always shared with Hannah before. Not that anyone could replace her. I’m just not myself today.” Lottie is still hovering around the dressing room. 

“Lottie, are you okay?”

“No. Yes. Okay. Just wanted us to have a chat.” Lottie is quiet for a moment. “About Gary.” She picks up a hair tie from the vanity bag, and twists it around her fingers.

“I was afraid you were still planning to pick him. I know you were with him on day one, and I was worried that you might change your mind.”

“I don’t have any feelings for him! The past is the past.” Alecto confidently replied, flashing her a smile. 

“Good. You and Lucas do look decent together. Honestly, I can’t tell how Gary feels about me. He can be hot and cold. But whatever.” Lottie plucks at the hair tie on her wrist. “This is a game, after all.” Lottie shifted slightly, not making eye contact with Alecto.  _ Has the kiss made stuff weird for you, still? _

“Oh, excuse me. I didn’t know you were talking in here.” Marisol said from the doorway, looking shifty.  _ There aren’t issues with her, too, are there? _

“I was just leaving.” Lottie grabs a fistful of jewellery from her area of the dressing room and leaves, pushing past Marisol who moves into the room. 

“Lottie is such an interesting case, isn’t she. I don’t know if Gary is thrilled that she picked him, though.” Marisol plops down in the chair next to Alecto, shifting slightly.

“Really?”  _ That’s strange. They appeared so compatible. _

“Those two spark off, in more ways than one. I’d like something to start going well for me around here, too. I thought both Henrik and Lucas seemed really exciting. Then neither of them chose me for dates on their first day here. You chose Lucas, and Henrik is gone. You seem to be a good couple, he only had eyes for you from the start, so I pretty much had no chance. May I ask you something?” Marisol maintained eye contact with Alecto, the sadness clear.

“Go on then.” Alecto bit her lip.

“You’ve been a real team player so far, so I feel I can just be direct. Are you putting all your eggs in Lucas’s basket?”

“Lucas was my pick. I want to see where we go.” she explained, watching Marisol’s face fall.

“I thought he and I had good chemistry. But I’ll forget about that, I guess. I really don’t want to be in another Rocco situation, or risk losing you again.” Marisol worried her lip with a finger.

“Give it a try, Marisol. If he’s more interested in you than me, there’s nothing I can do. You never know until you give it a shot. I don’t get why anyone would choose me over you, I’m nothing special.” 

“That’s really mature of you, Alecto. I don’t want to sabotage your chances, either. I just thought we should be honest. You’re amazing, seriously. Your friendship means a lot to me, and the possibility of something more.”

“Thanks.” Alecto links hands with her, giving it a squeeze.

Marisol sighs, and checks herself in the mirror. She adjusts her swimsuit top a few times, frowning a little.

“I’m just paranoid today. I had a tough week, with Rocco and all that. Being in this many failed couples hurts, a lot, along with being with Bobby for the second time. I keep believing, remaining hopeful, yet my hopes and dreams get squashed frequently. I can’t really tell if anyone in here is on my side. I really just wanted to know if you had my back. You’re my favourite of the girls in here, you know?” Marisol breaks into a rare, genuine grin, pulling Alecto into a warm hug. She smells of pineapple. Marisol evaluates herself in the mirror once more, and smiles as she leaves the dressing room. 

It’s already bright and hot outside. Over by the pool, Noah and Lucas are shirtless, testing the water. Hope basks on a sun lounger, gleaming with sun cream. Alecto catches her peeking at both boys from under her sunglasses. As she emerges onto the lawn, she hears Hope shout.

“Guys, I got a text!”

Alecto maintains coolness as she wanders in Hope’s general direction, perching on the end of the sun lounger next to her.

“What does it say?” She asked.

“Let’s see…” Hope looks around to make sure everyone is listening before she reads the text aloud. “Islanders, tonight the Villa will be hosting a Ministry Of Sound Party. Make sure you all dress to impress! Amazing! We get to scrub up nice and dance the night away. Are you excited, babes?” Hope reaches out a long, toned leg and playfully nudges Noah.  _ You can’t dance, and hate parties. So this is easily your worst nightmare. _

“Yes.” Noah looks preoccupied. He wades deeper into the swimming pool, hugging himself. “I’m just kind of worried I’ll spill something.” he explained.

“Oh, babes…” Hope looks at him in pity.

Just then, Alecto hears someone calling her from the daybeds. 

“Alecto! Over here!”

“No need to shout, Bobby.” Priya pouted.

Alecto sighed, standing up. “I’ll talk to you later?” she said in Hope’s direction, who nodded.

Alecto made her way over slowly, being careful with her footing. Her toe was mostly healed, but she could feel a strange omen coming from the daybeds. The fact that Bobby was actually talking to her was enough of a concern.

Priya perches elegantly on one of the daybeds next to Ibrahim. Their knees are touching, and they seem very relaxed together. Bobby sprawls casually, arms tucked behind his head, no sign of Marisol near him.

“How’s it going?” Bobby smiled at her.

“Good morning, Alecto!” Priya seemed really energetic. 

“Alecto, feel like doing some pull-ups with me?” Rahim asked.  _ Steady on! All 3 of them asking you at once. _

As the conversation turned into a weird one about pull-ups, Alecto tapped her foot, hoping to find an excuse to leave.

“Ugh, enough. Remember why we called Alecto over here?” Priya scrunched up her face slightly, her tone changing.

“That’s right. We need to stay mission-focused.” Bobby agreed. Alecto looked between Bobby and Priya suspiciously, smelling a rat.

“Sorry, Priya.” Rahim said.

Priya glances around, taking in the other islanders. Gary and Lucas are over by the gym area, with Marisol and Lottie looking on. Hope is still sunbathing by the pool, with Noah at the shallow end near her feet. It’s safe to say none of them are eavesdropping.

“So listen.” Priya leans in to speak quietly. “It’s weird how Hope and Noah got so serious so quickly, isn’t it? Are we really supposed to just stick with one person in here?”  _ You do understand, a little bit. Not Priya’s point, but Hope and Noah getting serious quickly. You did fall for Lucas at first sight after all, and you do intend on sticking with him. You feel you might’ve found the one. _

“They found what they wanted already.” Rahim grinned. Alecto nodded, sending Rahim a smile.  _ He’s clearly not involved in whatever storm is being conjured here. _

“I don’t know. I think it’s suspicious, too.” Bobby pouted.  _ He better not still have a misplaced crush on you. _

“Suspicious?” Rahim stared in surprise.

“Well, they’re obviously infatuated with each other.” Bobby explained.

“Infatuation! Exactly. It can’t be real so soon.” Priya agreed.

“We do call them ‘Nope’ for a reason. Sometimes I do get the feeling they’re performing.” Rahim agreed.

“Right? Not faking, just laying it on a little thick.” Bobby nodded.

“What are your thoughts, Alecto?” Priya asked.

“Hope is one of my best friends! I feel weird commenting on their relationship like this. Not only that, but you’ve been with Rahim since Day 2 as well. You’ve been coupled just as long, yet, you only cast judgment on Hope and Noah. Not only that, but I fell for Lucas very quickly myself. Are you saying that’s wrong, because of how serious we became so quickly? Or do you only cast suspicion on Hope and Noah?” Alecto levels an icy glare on Priya, her voice beginning to turn frosty. She could feel the anger bubbling up inside her, and her eyes sparked.

“A real friend would ask these kinds of questions, though.You’re right how Rahim and I have been coupled up the same length of time, but we’re not like Hope and Noah. ” Priya pointed out, laying her voice deep with concern.

“That’s true. I’d be worried if a mate fell hard for someone so quickly. For you, the situation is different as you have been coupled up with other people. Hope has stuck to Noah like glue.” Bobby pointed out, frowning.

“What if Hope’s missing out on opportunities here? There’s also the possibility they’re just playing the game. But I think we should test them.” Priya continued.

“What’s your plan then?”

“One of us has to try to turn Noah’s head.” Priya licked her lips.  _ So you choose someone who’s been cheated on once already to help you, who recently dealt with the Rocco mess and finally has a stable couple. She must be kidding. _

“I suggested it to Marisol last night, but she was insulted for some reason.” Bobby looked confused.

“I wonder why that is? Maybe because she’s already had such a tough week, with Rocco and all. She must be sick to the back teeth of drama, I know I am!” Alecto’s words bit at Bobby, his eyes going wide and blinking. Her voice slowly turning more icy was clearly starting to unnerve him, as he fidgeted slightly.  _ Good! Don’t hold back, set all of your anger free. _

“I probably would be too, if I were in a couple with you.” Priya pointed out.  _ Wait. What about poor Rahim? Does she give a fuck about him and his feelings? _

“But you asked me this morning if you could flirt with Noah!” Rahim complained.

“Just to test him. What do you think, Alecto? Want to help us with Operation Nope?” Priya studied her carefully.  _ No way in hell is that happening. _

“I can’t really get behind this plan. I’m not jeopardising my relationship with Lucas to kiss Noah, I don’t like leading people on. What did you expect by asking the two people who were involved in Roccogate, anyway? Did you expect that Marisol and I would easily agree?” 

“Why?! Because you like them?” Priya snapped, lashing out at Alecto. To her surprise, she didn’t flinch, only kept her narrowed eyes focused on Priya. 

“Ah, leave her alone, Priya. We can execute Operation Nope without anybody’s help, I reckon.” Bobby stepped in.

“More Noah for me!” Priya grinned.  _ Jeez, poor Rahim. _

“Wow, she isn’t even conflicted.” Rahim frowned.

“Um. Not that I’m looking to recouple, of course!” she pats Rahim reassuringly on the shoulder. Then Priya looks in Alecto’s eyes intently.

“Whatever happens, though, don’t tell anyone else about this. Please.”  _ You can’t promise that, you’re telling Hope and Noah, and finding Marisol to check on her. That explains a little bit why she was acting strange earlier. _

Bobby begins to chant, pumping his fist. “Operation Nope! Operation Nope! Nope! Nope!” 

“Bobby! It’s a secret!” Priya snapped.  _ This is going to go south very quickly, and you’re delighted to put them in their places here.  _


	29. Chapter 29

Gary and Lucas are in the kitchen, trying to figure out a bright orange appliance. It looks like a smoothie maker. There’s an instruction booklet, but they’re not reading it. 

“No, look, mate, if the blades are on the bottom-” Gary said.

“Wait, I think this part goes here.” Lucas cut in.

“No, it’s not flush with the base.”

“Hold the top, I’ll open it this way.”

Alecto nearly tripped over her own feet in her hurry to get into the kitchen. She caught herself on the counter, grabbing it to steady herself. She blushed, hoping they wouldn’t notice.  _ Curse your damn clumsiness! You had to get away from that conversation though. _

The commotion causes Lucas to look up and he grins at her.

“Hey! Are you okay? You nearly had quite a nasty fall there. Um, do you know anything about machines?” Lucas gestured at the smoothie maker, looking over to her with concern in his eyes. She kept moving about and stepped away from the counter, her posture slightly hunched over. She dropped eye contact, focusing her gaze on the counter before her.

“I’m fine, nothing’s hurt. I’m just a slight walking disaster.” she laughed slightly, it getting caught in her throat and making a strange sound.  _ That was embarrassing! You need to quit acting shifty, he must have spotted that something’s up with you.  _ The earlier conversation with Bobby and Priya had caused a build up of anger to grow inside her, and she felt uncomfortable.

“I know about machines! Just let me do it!” Gary said at the same time as her, drowning her out.

“I didn’t even want a smoothie  _ that  _ much…” Lucas said, leaning against the counter.

Alecto heard footsteps come up behind her, turning to see Marisol. She put a finger to her lips, gesturing to the smoothie maker, and went back to watching them quietly, managing to keep still. Marisol stood next to her and clasped her hands together. A ring on her finger drew Alecto’s attention, catching the light.  _ Where’s that from? You haven’t seen her wear a ring before. _

Gary takes the components from Lucas and sorts through them. A peaceful expression settles on Gary’s face. He seems to enjoy solving the problem on his own.

“Ah, that’ll be your trouble, then. Someone’s been through this box already. There’s an O-ring missing.” Gary explained.

“That makes sense. What’s an O-ring?” Lucas asked.  _ Wait. Is what’s on Marisol’s finger the missing O-ring? _

“Little bit of rubber shaped like a ring. Wonder who took it out of the box?” Gary looked confused. Alecto’s eyes darted over to Marisol, noticing the blush on her cheeks and how she was staring at her hands, fiddling with the ring.

“Someone who’s planning a rubber proposal?” Lucas joked. Alecto snorted, laughing at the joke along with Gary. She covered her mouth as she tried to gain back her composure.

“Oh, is that what the kids are calling it these days?” Gary replied.

“Noah probably nicked it to give to Hope. Like, “oh hey, I found you this beautiful jewel. I can’t believe someone like Hope is into that kind of thing.” Lucas pointed out.

“Had to be Rocco. He was the smoothie man.” Gary said.  _ How have neither of them noticed how shifty Marisol is currently? _

“Gary’s right. Rocco probably took it as a souvenir.” Alecto agreed.

“Um… is this it?” Marisol holds a small ring between her fingers. “Rocco gave it to me as a goodbye present.”  _ Aha! Perfect. _

Gary took the ring from her, eyeing the smoothie maker and humming, focusing on sorting it out. “There we go! It’s fixed.” he smirked at Marisol, surprisingly saying nothing.

Marisol’s hand reached out for Alecto’s, linking it with hers. She was pleasantly warm and it felt comfortable. 

Lucas reaches for her other hand, drawing her onto his lap and inviting her to join them. Her hip brushes his warm thigh, and a little electricity passes between them. Alecto leaned against him, feeling Marisol let go of her hand and grab a stool, pulling it up beside her and Lucas. Alecto was still so tense, and she struggled to relax.

“Haven’t seen Hope in a while.” Gary said.

“Noah’s in the living room on his own too.” Lucas replied. Alecto froze at the mention of Noah, and Lucas stroked her arm in an attempt to soothe her. 

“Trouble in paradise? Have either of you two heard anything?” Gary looked between Alecto and Marisol, noticing how tense both of them looked.  _ Uh oh. You can spill the truth now, if you like. _

“I’m not supposed to repeat this, but…” Alecto leans in closely, making sure only the 3 of them can hear her. “The others are wondering if those two are for real. Priya suggested shaking things up a bit. She wants to try to turn Noah’s head, and she said I should try, too.” she explained.

“Bobby asked me, too. I said no, of course. He told me he was going to ask you as well, so l wanted to check up on you.” Marisol chipped in, giving Alecto a wavering smile.  _ Wait, both of you wanted to check on the other one? Aww, that’s cute. Hopefully she’s okay, it does suck that she has to deal with this much shit. _

“What? You said no, right?” Lucas asked, frowning. He looked at Alecto with concern.

“Of course I said no. I don’t want another Rocco situation, and that really had an impact on me, so why would I risk my couple and friendship to kiss Noah? I wouldn’t, is the answer there, both you and Hope mean the world to me.” Alecto explained. 

“Yeah, that makes sense.” Gary nodded.

“Agreed. There has to be a better way of doing things.” Lucas linked hands with Alecto, feeling her relax slightly. 

“I thought similar myself. During the Rocco situation, I felt like an outcast. Understandably, considering what I did. I know you’re close with Hope, and through you I’m getting closer to her. So to risk that by kissing Noah, isn’t a good idea in my eyes. I know that I’m in a friendship couple with Bobby, but he didn’t even care, or pretend to, about my feelings and why I wouldn’t be keen on that idea. He’s so oblivious, sometimes…” Marisol stared at the counter, ducking her head slightly. Alecto stroked her hair, feeling Marisol relax slightly, closing her eyes in pleasure.  _ Exactly, she didn’t want to risk her friendships. Which does make you feel slightly warm, that you and Hope have that impact on her. She’s had to handle far too much in a short period of time. Being with Bobby again has to hurt, especially as she ended up choosing last. A real friend wouldn’t ask what he did of her, that’s for sure. _

“I actually thought Priya was going to pick Noah, when she first came.” Gary said.

“Who did she pick?” Lucas asked.

“Gary. I was coupled up with him at the time.” Alecto kept her tone level, trying for a smile.

“You’re not upset with her?” Lucas asked, fiddling with the ends of her hair.

“It’s not personal, really...she had to pick someone when she came in…” Her voice went softer again, Marisol looking up at her with concern.

“Does she feel the same?” Lucas asked, clearly noticing her change in tone.

“I think so...We get on well now. It’s more like we’re civil as I get that I was the safest option for her to pick, as I was least likely to flip at her over it, and likely appeared to not be that close to people in general…” she bit her lip, cutting herself off before she got stuck into a spiral of self pity.

“You thought Priya was into Noah, Gary?” Lucas asked.

“Just had a feeling. I think she and Rahim are good together, though.” Gary explained.  _ Oh yeah. She might have made her mark now. _

“He definitely fancies her. Where’s Priya now, anyway?” Lucas asked.

Alecto looks around the garden. Priya is nowhere to be seen.

“Bet she’s cracking on with Noah, already!” Gary smirked.

“Really? Is Hope okay?” Lucas said.

“I saw her go up to the roof terrace alone, actually.” Gary said. 

“I’m going to check on her, see you guys later then?” Alecto pushed warmth into her tone, letting go of Lucas’ hand and hopping off his lap. She didn’t look back, or she would have seen Marisol watching after her, not fooled by her tone.

Alecto leaves the garden behind and climbs the stairs in search of Hope. Emerging onto the roof terrace, she sees Hope sitting alone, hugging one of the cushions in her lap. She straightens when she sees Alecto. 

“Hey, Alecto.” Hope puts on a smile, trying to look confident.

“Hey there. What brings you up here by yourself?” she asked.

“I was actually hoping you’d come and talk to me. You’re the only girl in here I think of as a real friend, you know? I know you’re close with Marisol too, but I feel like you’re my best friend here.” Hope explained.

“What’s wrong?” Alecto moved over to Hope, taking a seat beside her.

“I don’t know. Maybe nothing.” Hope falls silent, resting her chin on her hand. “I need perspective from someone I trust. I mean, of course it’s about Noah. This always happens to me with guys.” Hope bit her lip, cutting herself off.

“What happens?”

“Well...I know what I want quite quickly, and I go after it. But for some reason, as soon as the boy really falls for me, I freak out. I really like Noah. Like, I haven’t liked a boy this much in ages. I’m just so scared I’m going to end up pushing him away.” Alecto put a gentle arm around Hope’s shoulders, feeling the taller girl lean into it.

“You’ve been pushing him away? How?” Alecto asked, maintaining a soothing tone. Her earlier anger set to the back of her mind, focused on helping Hope.

“Picking fights over small things, closing off a bit, things like that. I don’t even realise I’m doing it until there’s tension between us. Today’s been kind of awkward, actually.”

“Did you have a fight just now?” Alecto asked.

Hope sighs loudly. 

“I accidentally pulled the string out of my hoodie, and Noah didn’t care.”

“What?”

“It was my favourite hoodie, and the string came out and now it’s ruined. All he said was, ‘oh, I’ll buy you a new one!’ So I said something like ‘babes, I’m the one with the money in this couple.’ And he was like ‘I know!’ Can you believe he just said ‘I know’?” Hope said.  _ She mentioned money, which was a little wrong of her. You do understand why he got mad though. You dislike materialism, and materialistic people.  _

“He just said ‘I know’? Wow…” she tried to sound convincing,but Hope raised an eyebrow, not questioning it. 

“I know! Right? He was totally out of line!”

Alecto nodded.

“I wasn’t trying to throw anything in his face. I just wanted him to understand that I have enough things, the hoodie was sentimental. But it turned into this whole fight. Did I totally overreact?” Hope studied her carefully.  _ Try telling her the truth. You can do it. _

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but I think you did. Sometimes people just cross wires, and it escalates until you don’t even know what the fight is about anymore. Mentioning money likely didn’t help, maybe if you had explained that the hoodie was sentimental, he would’ve understood that. Money in general can be a touchy subject.” she explained, looking up at Hope.

“You’re right. It’s not what I wanted to hear, but you’re right. I respect you for your honesty. I just got stressy in the moment, that’s all. That’s what happens when I’m really into a guy. But now I’m wondering if he’s actually uncomfortable about my career, and the fact I earn more money than he does. Growing up, it was just me and my dad and sisters, and we didn’t have a lot. I worked so hard to get where I am. I’m proud of my achievements, you know? But it’s been an issue in my past relationships. Guys can feel intimidated. So when Noah was like ‘I know,’ I thought, oh no, him too?” 

Alecto nodded, fiddling with a loose curl.

“I just hope he doesn’t assume I’m materialistic, just because I’m doing well for myself. He also brought up the date I went on with Lucas. He thought I seemed like ‘I was going to pick Lucas over him.’ Yes, Lucas is attractive. But I understand that you like him so I wouldn’t do that to you. You’re lucky to have such a stable couple, I’m glad you’re happier. I can see it radiating from you.” Hope finished.

“It sounds like there’s more going on between you than an unstrung hoodie.” Alecto bit her lip.

“Yeah. I just hope we can reconnect before the party tonight. Noah’s the only one here I'm interested in. I’m afraid that if I can’t control my anxiety, I’ll push him away, and someone else will turn his head. But at the same time, when you said that ‘money can be a touchy subject’, I do understand that. You have experience of that, too, right?” Hope leaned on her hands, clasped under her chin.

“My parents split up when I was 8, and my mum got custody entirely. It was difficult for her to support 3 children, I have two sisters, so when my dad offered to take me instead, she agreed without a question. I haven’t seen her and my sisters since I was 14. When my parents were together, they would regularly argue about money and argue a lot in general. I can’t remember them ever being happy together. The money issues were still there even when they split up, but she didn’t help matters by favouring both of my siblings over me. I was relieved when I started living with my dad, even though he had fallen in love again. My step mum is amazing, and I’m far closer to her than to my biological mum. The whole family setup is just better in general, and I’m far closer to my step sister Quinn and my two half sisters than I am to my full siblings. As a rule, I don’t tend to separate them that way, if I talk about my siblings, it’s usually them I’m talking about. My dad is so happy though, seeing how in love he is still makes me believe fully in soulmate words, as they both said each others, so they have a real soulmate connection. Anyway, I come from a working class background, so I can relate there. I haven’t talked to anyone about this, so I’m trusting you with this information.”

Hope nodded, and they fall into a comfortable silence, until Alecto remembers about Priya and Bobby and that mess.

Alecto lowers her voice, to be sure no one can possibly overhear.

“I actually need to tell you something else, Hope.”

“Oh no. What happened? What did Noah do?” Hope asked.

“Nothing that I know of yet.”

“Yet! What is it?” Hope’s voice turns spiky, making Alecto flinch back. She waits to gain her composure before continuing.

“Earlier today I was talking to Priya and Bobby. They were saying you and Noah are just infatuated, and that you got too serious too fast.” Alecto starts off.

“They said that?”

“Yes. Priya said she was going to try to graft on Noah. I told her I didn’t like the idea, but I don’t know what her plans are. Bobby tried to get Marisol involved too, but she refused. Both of us agreed on how messed up the plan was.”

“Ugh, I knew she was still carrying a torch for Noah!”

“Maybe that’s part of it.”

“I bet she’s talking to Noah right now, taking advantage of our fight! How could I be so ignorant! If Priya wants a problem, I’ll give her a problem. Thank you for telling me, and for not getting involved in it. You and Marisol are true friends.” Hope picks up her water bottle and stands up suddenly.

“Wait! What are you going to do?”

Hope storms away down the stairs as if she doesn’t hear Alecto. Alecto groaned, putting her head in her hands.  _ What were you saying earlier, this is so going to blow up! Maybe you shouldn’t have told her, but she deserved to know.  _

The sun is setting over the Villa as she heads back inside. On her way to rejoin the others, she notices a light on in the living room. To her surprise, someone’s in there alone. It’s Noah. He’s sitting at one end of the sofa, concentrating on something in his lap. He looks up when she enters, startled.

“Oh, excuse me! I didn’t realise you were in here.” she goes to leave, but Noah’s voice causes her to turn back.

“That’s okay. I’m not really doing anything.” he’s cradling a heather-coloured hoodie. The hood has come unstrung.

“You don’t know how to put the string back in a hoodie, do you?” he asked.

“I’m not great at fixing things, I’ll admit. Slightly too clumsy and not great with fiddly stuff.” she explained.

Noah looks disappointed. 

“I was thinking if maybe I had a piece of wire, I could tie it to that and thread it through like a needle.”

“Hmm. What about a coat hanger?” she retrieves one from where someone left it on the door hook. He takes it from her and patiently begins to twist out the shape to create a straight piece of wire. A silence falls…

“How has your day been? I don’t usually catch you alone.” she tried for basic small talk. A thoughtful look flickers across his soulful features, focused on his task.

“I guess I haven’t spent much time alone since I came here. Hope and I got serious pretty quickly. It’s normal to fight a little bit when you spend all your time with someone, right? I mean, has Hope said anything to you?”  _ Constant fighting shouldn’t be normal. That does take you back in time, to Étienne, then further to your childhood. The occasional fight is fine, but when it’s constant, then there’s an issue. _

Alecto poked herself in the arm, snapping herself out of her head.

“I just spoke to her.” Noah fixes his attention on Alecto anxiously. 

“Really? What did she say?” Noah asked.

“She told me she was worried about pushing you away. Hope really, really likes you, and I think it scares her. That’s probably why she got argumentative.” 

“She was mean because she likes me so much? I guess that’s nice to know, but it’s pretty immature.” Noah falls silent again, concentrating on re-stringing the hoodie. His plush lower lip juts out slightly, giving him a vulnerable look. 

“I’m just surprised, I guess. Maybe I don’t know Hope as well as I thought I did. I do feel like I miss signals, though. I’m usually the last person to get a joke. Even when the joke is me.”  _ Yep, that’s relatable. You spend so much time watching people and planning your moves yet you still miss stuff. In large groups, you let yourself be swallowed up and focus on a small number of people only. _

His broad shoulders rise and fall with a certain elegance as he takes a deep sigh.

“You’ve been a friend to me and Hope. But I appreciate you being honest with me.” Noah nodded.

“Of course. I suck at lying anyway so being open and honest is much better in general.I know you and Hope can talk things out. Don’t throw in the towel over something so minor.” She gave him a soft smile.

“Really? Do you think Hope and I can get that connection back?” Noah looks hopeful.

“I think so. She really wants to be with you.” Alecto nodded.

“Phew, that’s encouraging, at least. I want to stay in the Villa, though. Who else could I possibly couple up with? I was with Hannah, but that was short lived. I haven’t even looked at any of the other girls.” he asked.

“I don’t want to meddle, or anything like that. I just think you should stay open to meeting someone else. It’s only a matter of time before new girls come in. Having a relationship that consists of fight after fight does suck, I can speak from experience. If it seems like the fights are constant, be careful.”

“You could be right.” Another silence falls as Noah thoughtfully resumes the hoodie repair. The wire pops out the other end of the hood with the string securely tied. When Noah pulls the wire out, the hoodie is fixed.

“I’m going to take some time to think before I chat to Hope. It’s been so helpful to talk about it, though.” A gleam seems to have returned to Noah’s striking eyes. He gently folds the hoodie, and sets it aside.

“Thanks, Alecto. Really.” Then he gets to his feet and comes towards her.

“My pleasure.” Noah pulls her in for a brief hug. He’s tall and warm, but there’s no spark there.  _ Which is a relief! You’re already confused with the three sparks you already have. _

“I guess I’ll see you at the Ministry of Sound party?” he asked, smiling at her. She nodded, turning away when he let her go. 

She disappears upstairs to the roof terrace, watching the sun start to set and the stars emerge. It was a little cold and she wrapped her arms around herself, shivering slightly. She noticed a blanket near to her and pulled it around her shoulders, curling up. The silent, calm night helped her gain enough control to face the upcoming storm, she had been craving some time alone for a while. She hummed gently, studying the canopy of stars above her. 

_ “City of stars, are you shining just for me?”  _ she looked up at the sky as she started to sing, blocking everything apart from the night sky out. She gets lost in the song, slowly then all at once. When she finishes, her lips curl upwards into a smile. 

She’s entirely unaware of someone standing at the door, until she hears a little cough and jumps up, turning on her heel to see Marisol, her heart racing in her chest.

“Sorry, I didn’t intend to scare you. That was beautiful, you’re so talented.” She sounds a little uncertain and her voice floats slightly away. They make eye contact and Alecto’s surprised to see the blush on Marisol’s face and her shining eyes. 

“Thank you. That’s strange, I haven’t practised it in years, I felt rusty myself. I suppose we’re all our own worst critics, right? I was so lost in myself that literally anyone and anything would’ve made me jump, so no problem.” she removes the blanket from her shoulders, folding it and settling it back where she found it. She walks closer to Marisol, sending her a warm smile and delighting in her reflecting it back.

“I was...I was...Excuse me.” Marisol cleared her throat, turning deeper red as she tried to find her words. “I was going to look for you, to get ready for the party tonight. And I had to escape from the argument in the dressing room. Would you be able to show me how you style your hair? Like when you have most of it down and braid a small part of it?”

“Even better, I can do it for you. Good distraction from the chaos, I think.” Alecto moved towards the stairs, Marisol turning and starting to walk down them, with Alecto following.


	30. Chapter 30

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Surprise double update today! Didn’t plan on doing that, but it made sense to do it this way.  
> Please be mindful regarding trigger warnings, this chapter does contain an anxiety attack.  
> In addition, my updating schedule might vary next week, I haven’t decided fully what I’m doing, but updates will still happen on Thursdays, but there might be something else too! I’m not saying anything further, so I don’t spill stuff.

The dressing room is cluttered with makeup pots, brushes and smudged tissues. Alecto removes a dark green off-the-shoulder dress from a hanger, disappearing to change. Dressed for the party, she turns to the makeup table, going to the corner spot. Marisol followed her, standing beside her in silence, a little mesmerised by the new look.

Alecto brushed her hair, separating a small section of hair on the left side of her head, focusing on braiding it. She held onto the small braid with one hand, looking up when Marisol tapped her on the shoulder.

“Umm...I can hold it if you like. Then you have your hands free.” Marisol gave her a soft smile.

Alecto nodded, switching places with Marisol and feeling her lightly take hold of the finished braid. Alecto repeated her action on the right side of her head, taking the other braid from Marisol and clipping them together at the back of her head. She brushed her fringe into place, smiling.

“I’ll do it for you now, if you like.”

Marisol nodded, pulling up a chair and taking a seat in front of the mirror. She felt Alecto’s hands separate out two strands, featherlight and gentle. When her fingertips would make contact with her skin, Marisol felt strange, like she was floating on air. Just that amount of small contact was enough to make her head spin.

She watched Alecto braid her hair in silence, mesmerised by how quickly she created the two braids. It usually took her awhile to do most hairstyles, anything beyond a simple ponytail or bun was beyond her. She had tried learning how to do a French braid, or a simple plait, but rarely put her skills to use, mainly as it took so long to do. Alecto was also managing to style her hair without getting her fingers snagged in Marisol’s hair, which was a task. 

“Done! What do you think?” Alecto put her chin on Marisol’s shoulder, looking at her in the mirror.

“Thank you, I love it. You’re really talented.” She stood up, linking hands with Alecto. Even that small motion was enough to set the hairs on the back of her neck on end, their hands felt like they were meant for each other. 

“Your hands are so soft and so smooth.” Alecto gave her a genuine smile, the type she had only shown rarely. Usually she would hide her mouth, or smile with closed lips only, so seeing her grin with her mouth open, with the gap in her two front teeth showing, made Marisol feel so happy. _She’s beautiful, almost too perfect. Small imperfections in some people’s eyes make her even more gorgeous to you._

She heard someone clicking their fingers in her face, and she blinked, looking over to Alecto again.

“Umm...you were staring slightly. Not that I mind, but yeah. You got lost in a dream for a bit, there.” Alecto looked strangely pleased, her eyes glinting as she continued smiling. At some point, Alecto had let go of Marisol’s hand and stood with her hands clasped together. Marisol’s eyes flicked over to her hands, noticing how some of her fingers curved in different ways to her own hands. Alecto noticed her looking, and didn’t flinch away.

“You can ask about them, if you want to know. I don’t mind talking about my hands.”

Marisol nodded, blocking out the rest of the room. “If you’re comfortable, sure.”

“When I was born, my 3 end fingers were joined together, meaning that I had 2 fingers and a thumb technically. My first finger and thumb were naturally straight and had fingerprints. I only have two fingerprints on each hand. So I had to have multiple operations to separate my fingers. In total, I’ve likely had at least 6 or 7, but a good amount of those I was too young to remember fully. My fingers will never be fully straight, but that I’m now cool with. Everyone has at least 5 hand twins naturally, yet I’m completely unique! The pattern of scars on my hands is also unique, I’ve had multiple skin grafts. I like my hands now, but I dealt with a lot of bullying and people asking me a lot of annoying and rude questions when I was in primary and secondary school. Having a rare condition does suck sometimes, it was a 50/50 chance whether or not I’d get it. Both of my biological siblings avoided inheriting it..” Alecto explained. “It also impacts on the size of my facial features, and my fingers and toes. My toes are small too, but mostly straight. It doesn’t bother me quite as much now though.”

Marisol nodded, gently picking up Alecto’s right hand and tracing the scars with her finger. They weren’t too noticeable, but it fascinated her how some of them appeared to repeat on both hands. They stood out slightly, the pale scars showing against Alecto’s skin.

She repeated her action on the other hand, eventually letting go. 

“They’re pretty, and unusual. I do like them, a lot. People in general do tend to pounce on difference, not defending it in the slightest either. You deserve respect and to live free from bullies. I can relate, not the hand thing, but about bullies. Having both glasses and braces wasn’t fun, I was already shorter than everyone. The only benefit is straight teeth, braces were dreadful. Contacts irritate my eyes.”

“Same!” Alecto held up her hand for a high five, and Marisol took the hint, feeling their hands connect. “I suppose you’re about to tell me that braces hurt a lot, and were dreadful, right? Sophie had them too and was forever complaining about them. I used to want them, but I’m the same person who used to want to break a limb.”

“Umm, what?” Marisol stared at her in shock.

“Yup. My teeth are too small for them, which was frustrating given the fact that they’re wonky and all. There’s people out there who think I broke both arms, but I was just so fed up of answering constant questions, and both times that happened I had massive casts on one of my arms, so I mean, a broken arm was just an easy lie there. I guess when I was younger, I thought that I’d already been to hospital so many times that I wanted to have an actual emergency happen to me. And now I’m going to be a doctor! So yeah, I do have a genuine passion for it.” Alecto laughed, putting an arm around Marisol’s shoulders. 

“I broke my arm falling out of a tree, and my glasses in the process. That was when I was 8, so I guess I stopped taking risks as I got older. It really, really hurt though, and I had to take time off school for it, which was frustrating. One benefit was not having to do PE though, but I had to wear taped up glasses until they got replaced, which was equally not great. So the fact you wanted that to happen, is questionable to say the least.” She kept her explanation short, tilting her head to the side and watching Alecto. 

The two of them turn their attention back to the others. The tension hung in the air between Priya and Hope, with Lottie flashing a shit eating grin. 

Lottie turns towards them. 

“You two look like twins, your hair suits you like that, Marisol. Alecto’s really talented, right?” Lottie smiles. _Wait. Lottie being nice to you! Hell must’ve frozen over._

“Thank you.” both of them say at the same time. Marisol turns away and picks up some glittering sheets with a variety of interesting shapes on them.

“What are these sparkly things?” she asks, studying the shapes before her.

“Gold temporary tattoos! Let’s bling up. It’s my time to shine! Let me help you.” Lottie smiles at her. _If she’s being nice, then why not enjoy it?_

“Please do. You’re the make-up professional here.” Lottie sits on a stool next to Marisol and begins carefully applying the gold designs to Marisol’s skin. 

Marisol looks over to Alecto, noticing how she put the tattoos back where she found them. Priya and Hope both stared over at Alecto, but not making eye contact with each other. Alecto moved over to Marisol and Lottie, leaning against the table and fiddling with her bracelet.

Marisol focused on Lottie, laughing and chatting with her. She was aware of the tension in the room, hanging over the other end. _Alecto will likely be tasked with sorting this out._

Hope finishes getting ready first, and stands.

“It’s been fun, girls, but that’s me done.” She carefully checks herself in the mirror, her back to everyone. “Alecto told me everything about your ‘operation’, Priya.”

Priya looks as if she’s been slapped.

“I guess you really go for boys that aren’t yours.” Hope glared at Priya, her glare enough to cut glass.

“I knew she was up to something when I saw her taking Noah aside earlier.” Lottie hisses.

Dressed to the nines, Hope turns to stroll out of the dressing room, her high heels the only sound in the silence. Priya tries to call after her, but Hope completely blanks her.

“What was all that about?” Marisol watches Priya with a neutral expression.

Priya sighs faintly, tidying her eyeliner with a cotton swab. Alecto notices her hand trembling. 

“I made a pass at Noah.” Priya ducks her head. _And now she’s acting sad, trying to get pity for her actions._

“Noah? Are you serious? How could you?” Lottie snapped at Priya, the harsh sound grating at Alecto’s ears.

“Gary said you were sick of them!” Priya defended herself. _True. You’re one of the only people who’s unconditionally supported Nope, out of all of them._

“I never said that! Not exactly!” Lottie frowns. _Lies, definitely._

“I’ve definitely heard you say that, Lottie.” Marisol joined in. 

“Lottie said that we all came here for love, and those two already found it. But she wasn’t the one who kissed Noah. That’s all on you, Priya, so don’t try passing blame here.” her frosty tone makes Priya flinch slightly.

“Yeah! This is definitely not my fault.”

Alecto shifts slightly, staring at the floor. She felt herself floating in and out, brought back again by Marisol’s hand on her arm.

“Well, tonight just got tense.” Marisol gives Alecto a concerned look, plaiting a loose section of hair. Emotion briefly flashes across her face.

“I’m not doing this right now.” Lottie stood, making her way to the doorway and stopping before she leaves.

“I’ll be outside, Alecto. You better come tell me everything.”

Priya sits on her own among scattered brushes and spilt face powder.

“Alecto, you told Hope? I knew Lottie would run and tittle tattle when she saw me and Noah. But I trusted you. I guess that was a mistake.” She looks over at Alecto, sadness in her eyes. 

“Really? I told you straight out that I wasn’t on board with your plan. Why me, anyway? Why get me involved, we’re far from close!” The anger was back in her stomach, churning full force. Her words began to turn frosty, delicate snowflakes appearing in her breath. 

“I know, but I didn’t expect you to tell Hope! And that was Bobby’s idea. He thought you would be up for it, and he still likes you. When we joined our operations together, his was Operation Alobby. He intended to have you kiss Noah, then come comfort you when Lucas broke up with you. His other idea was to get Marisol involved, break up with her over it, then try and get you to comfort him. I did say that the chances either of you would agree to participate was slim to none. He told me not to tell you, but I couldn’t keep it from you any longer.” Priya’s voice went smaller as she curled in on herself, looking shorter than the 5’9 she was. 

“Ha! That was never in a million years going to work. Well, she’s one of my best friends here. And asking me to do what you did messed with my head a bit. For you to even think I’d be onboard with something so cruel, you don’t know me at all. Maybe that’s a good thing.” The icy laugh makes Priya jump, accompanied by the words steadily going colder. 

Priya anxiously plays with her hair. 

“I just assumed I was your friend, too.” Priya groans. “It just feels like being back in high school. Can’t do anything right, always the odd one out.” 

“I was an outcast too in school. But I would _never ever_ go out of my way to hurt someone. I guess you don’t share those values.” the ice in her words bit at Priya, causing her eyes to widen and her eyelashes to flutter. 

Priya unplugs her curling tongs with a yank and leaves the dressing room in a hurry. 

Alecto waited for Priya to be entirely gone, before turning to Marisol.

“She could have seen this coming, scheming against Hope like that. I don’t usually blow up like this. No one’s seen how angry I can get here. I feel so guilty when I do lash out, but I’m guilt free currently. What does that say about me?” Alecto played with a loose lock of hair, eyeing Marisol carefully.

“I feel for her, but I’m not making any judgments until I have all the facts. I’m not surprised at the Bobby revelation though. I guess I’ll always be the bridesmaid, never the bride. Always second rate, always the little outcast. None of that is your fault though.You’re not a bad person for not feeling guilt, she hurt both of us, along with Hope and Noah. ” Marisol leans in close to the mirror to apply a final coat of mascara, her lip trembling slightly. A hint of vulnerability appears on her face. _You do feel for her. It must hurt so much._

Alecto puts an arm around her shoulder, feeling Marisol lean into it. 

“Both of us knew she was up to something, and I happen to know that you and Noah were alone in the lounge earlier. I wonder what went on when Priya was alone with him.” Marisol stands up and mists herself with a jasmine cologne. The sweet floral scent hangs in the air as she smiles at Alecto in the mirror.

“I’m excited for this party, now. Thanks for doing my hair, and the chat earlier. Any time with you is time well spent.” Marisol grins, making her way outside. 

When Marisol has left, Alecto stares at her reflection in the mirror, taking in a deep breath. _Let’s tackle Lottie, see what she wants first._

Alecto finds Lottie in the kitchen, evaluating the snacks and drinks to be served at the party. She peers in the fridge, shuts it and then examines a bowl of snacks on the kitchen island. At first she doesn’t notice Alecto.

“Yes! Bombay Mix! Dear little peanut, crunchy noodle and rice puff. Which to eat first?” Lottie eyes the snacks in glee, speaking to them.

Alecto giggles quietly, moving back and forth on the spot. When the small noise still hadn’t alerted Lottie to her presence, she clears her throat casually. _Guess you’re a ghost, again. Oh lovely._

Lottie jumps, putting down the snacks again and turning on her heel to see Alecto.

“Oh, hey, Alecto. I was just checking out the party snacks.” Lottie shrugs as hard as she can. “It’s just Bombay Mix. Nothing special.” Lottie frowns, pretending to be as natural as possible. _She was just talking to the snacks, and sounded pretty excited, so that’s weird. Maybe it’s you again._

“Were you talking to the snacks? I can always leave, if you don’t want me here.” Alecto started to turn away, leaving the kitchen.

“Was I? I didn’t realise. Maybe. You don’t have to leave! I wanted to talk to you, anyway.” Lottie caught Alecto’s wrist gently, holding her in place. She sounded panicked at the mere mention of Alecto leaving.

Alecto nodded, turning back towards Lottie. She pushed her glasses up her nose to use up some nervous energy. Lottie stands closer to Alecto so she can talk quietly. Alecto pretends to be folding napkins.

“Earlier today I saw Priya pull Noah aside for a chat in the lounge area. I thought Hope should know right away. That’s when she told me you already warned her. Gary was the one who told me about Operation Nope. He said the boys already knew! Except Noah, of course. Do you know how they found out?” Lottie studied the counter. _Bobby, of course. He wanted to prevent this mess ruining him._

“Bobby was with Priya when she first brought it up. And when his part of the plan didn’t work, he likely wanted to preserve his reputation. He’s not underhanded. He’d probably just tell people. He definitely can’t keep secrets well.” Alecto explains, matching Lottie’s quiet tone.

“That’s the likely explanation. I’m still trying to sort out who knew what, when. And why I was the last to know. You didn’t have to go to Hope on your own. I would have helped. What a day.” Lottie sprinkles Bombay Mix on the counter and begins arranging the different pieces into patterns. _Is this all this is about? And would she really have helped?_

“I’m sorry, Lottie. Today was kind of a whirlwind. I didn’t mean to leave you out of anything. But at the same time, I have no idea where we stand with each other, and...and I was trying to prevent this blowing up. Hope and Marisol are the people I’m closest to, and both of them got hurt by this. And Lottie, you weren’t the best with sorting the Rocco situation, so I guess I wanted to sort it myself this time, yet that’s gone pear shaped! Why do I even try anymore?” Alecto’s eyes flashed as she was speaking, the anger and frustration coming full force. She couldn’t stop moving her hands, surprisingly keeping her voice quiet. Her words came out in a rush.

“That’s all I wanted to say, really. I understand, I guess. But Marisol? How was she involved in this? You don’t have to suffer through everything on your own, and you shouldn’t be sorting out mess after mess. I was just saying, if you wanted help, I would’ve helped! I know I approached both the kiss and Roccogate wrong, which I’m sorry for. You’re the closest thing I have to a friend, after Hannah left. Yet we are still so distant.” Lottie crushes a rice puff between two fingers. “I guess I learned something, though.” 

“Yeah? What’s that? Bobby actually asked Marisol first about this, and she turned him down flat. Very understandably, too. So this just messed with her a bit. That’s the short explanation, anyway. I promise it wasn’t my intention to leave you out, part of it was to not involve you in yet another bit of pointless drama!” Alecto’s voice went spiky towards the end.

“Okay. Thank you for thinking about me in that way. Now I understand a little better. So both you and Marisol were asked? Interesting. Priya and Bobby should really have realised there was no way either of you would agree, even I know that. You’re glowing, ever since you coupled up with Lucas, so I’m happy you’re happy. I shouldn’t be so invested in other people’s drama. Tonight I’m just going to focus on Gary. And trying to have a nice time at the party, of course!” Lottie grinned, linking hands with Alecto, managing to soften Alecto slightly. 

“Sounds like a good plan for us both, I’ll try my best to do that with Lucas. Also be patient with me. I know it’s a little weird between us, but it does take time for me to warm up and trust people again.” Alecto mirrored Lottie’s grin, her eyes crinkling slightly. _Why wasn’t it like that for Marisol? Why did you let her in so quickly? Or is this another ‘Alecto crush’ as Sophie regularly refers to them as? Hmm. But you’ll need to confront the masterminds of Operation Nope soon, so you have some clarity in this mess. Might as well get it over and done with._

“See you later, hopefully.” She let go of Lottie’s hand, turning to leave. Lottie nodded and waved her goodbye.

_Hmm. Where’s the most private place here? Maybe the roof terrace?_

As Alecto walks up the stairs, she can hear Bobby and Priya speaking in low voices.

“I’m similar. I think that’s why I joke around so much.” Bobby frowned.

“I try that, but it falls flat.” Priya said.

“Because of how you feel about yourself?” Bobby asked.

Away from the beautiful lights and decorations, Bobby and Priya are sitting close together. It looks like Bobby has nicked a bottle of champagne from the party fridge, and has poured Priya a little glass.

The sight of them causes fresh anger to bubble inside Alecto.

“What’s up, Alecto?” Bobby looked at her in surprise.

“Mind if I join you?” She eyed both of them warily. There’s an awkward pause. 

“Priya already feels bad, Alecto.” Bobby broke the silence.

“Well, she should feel bad! Bobby, Priya took on Hope in a big way, and you encouraged it. And now you’re helping her again?” The ice in Alecto’s voice was back, full force. She managed to keep enough control over it, not wanting to entirely lose it, just yet. Her tone caused Priya to shiver, looking away from her and focusing sad eyes entirely on Bobby. 

“Look, Alecto, it’d be brilliant if all of us in here fell in love right off and became best friends forever. But conflicts happen, and we still need to treat each other with respect! Priya feels terrible. Does it help if we make her feel worse?” Bobby frowned, sending a glare her way.

“I guess not. You’re also involved in this mess, yet I don’t see you showing any regret for anything. There’s a lot of people who got hurt here, off the top of my head, there’s only 3 people who aren’t involved.” she focused her glare on Bobby, maintaining eye contact with him. Bobby breaks eye contact first.

Priya smiles gratefully at Bobby. Alecto joins them on the cushions, sitting at a distance from them, hanging off the edge. 

“I guess I thought better of you. To get yourself involved in this.” Bobby puts on a tone of concern, touching Alecto’s arm. She moved away further, nearly falling off the cushions.

“You don’t even know me, and both of you were the ones who got me involved. Not the other way around. Don’t twist it to make it look like I’m the one who did something wrong here. You did upset Marisol, by the way. Not that you appear to care about anyone else involved in this, apart from Priya. As for me, I know the truth. Or some of it, at least.” Alecto replied, her tone pointed. 

“I used to like you. But I don’t recognise who you are anymore. I did want to couple up with you, getting you to kiss Noah so Lucas would break up with you, and I would come in to rescue you, then we would be properly coupled up.” Bobby explained.

“You know nothing about me, at all. You’ve just latched onto me for some reason. I’m not here to be the girl of your dreams, I’m a real life person with feelings. You liked your idealised version of me, not actual me. Was the first rejection, right at the start, not enough for you? Or the fact that I quite obviously have strong feelings for Lucas? Or does only poor Bobby matter in this world? I’m very aware that you and Marisol are only a friendship couple, but the way you’ve treated her since you coupled up is far from ‘friendly’!” Her eyes flashed, the temperature appearing to drop rapidly.

“That’s not fair!” Bobby interrupted. 

“Oh? I wasn’t finished. I care about my friends and I’m loyal to them. In addition, both Marisol and I just dealt with Roccogate, which majorly hurt. So the fact you’d even think to suggest this plan as a possibility for either of us, wow! You’re completely clueless, aren’t you!” Her words bit at him, and Bobby flinched. He was speechless for a while, an awkward silence in the air. 

Priya dabs carefully at her eyes. The tissue clutched in her hands is dotted with make-up smudges. Her gaze remains in her lap when she speaks to Alecto, and breaks the silence.

“I forgive you for going to Hope. I shouldn’t have expected you to hide it. If not you, someone else would have told her. In addition, you’re right. We shouldn’t have tried to involve Marisol or you, that was wrong. I’m sorry for that, for all that it’s worth.” 

“I’m sorry for flipping out at you, Priya. Hope is one of my best friends, so of course I told her. I do wish I didn’t have to take sides, but this did mess with my head. We’ve been drama free for one entire day! Then we’re straight back to the next car crash, which I’m sick of.” Alecto sighed, moving slightly closer to Priya and squeezing her hand. She softened her tone marginally when focused on Priya. 

“I admit I spoke to the guys about Operation Nope. And Lottie told Hope she saw you take Noah for a chat in the lounge area.” Bobby ignored Alecto, looking over her head to Priya. 

“In the end, it doesn’t matter what you all did or didn’t say.” Priya’s hands begin to tremble again, and she dabs her eyes delicately. “Noah told her everything.”

“What happened when you got him alone then?”

“I told him I fancied him, and he seemed nervous. I took it as a sign, and went for a kiss. But he totally dodged it! It was so awkward.”

“Oof. Poor you.” Bobby put his hand on Priya’s shoulder.

“I guess he told Hope about it immediately. I came clean about the ‘Operation Nope’ thing, and what I said about them. I didn’t want Priya to take all the blame. Which means Hope knows you weren’t involved, Alecto.” Bobby sighed, taking time to gather his words together. “Look, it’s not my fault I know barely anything about you, you cut yourself off from people. To be fair, you shot me down quickly, and have made your feelings for people in general clear. I entirely ignored both your feelings and Marisol’s, you’re right. I’ll back off, and apologise to Marisol. It appears that only two couples have come out of this unscathed: Lottie and Gary and you and Lucas. Which is good for you, you do deserve a stable couple. I’m sorry for trying to involve you in this, and my plan.”

“Thank you, don’t expect instant forgiveness either. I’m still working through the Lottie kiss currently. Hope and Noah were already fighting all day. Can you seriously blame me, though? For being wary and closing myself off.”

“Isn’t it convenient, now they can blame us! And I guess I understand.” Bobby nodded.

“I’m the one who told Noah to keep working on their relationship, too.” Alecto said. 

“I’ll bet she knows that, at least.” Bobby said.

Alecto felt herself starting to fade, welcoming it. The conversation was too much of an effort to keep following, and she zoned out, spinning her bracelet. Bobby’s voice brought her back again.

“It was good of you to come up here, Alecto. Poor Priya. She deserves the chance to fall for someone in here.” Bobby looks thoughtfully out over the garden, silent for a moment. “It’ll all turn out fine. I think!” He tried for a grin. 

Alecto stood, smoothing out the skirt of her dress and made her way to the garden. She was the last to arrive, it appeared. She helps herself to a glass of champagne and joins the big group on the dance floor. Lucas takes her by the hand as she approaches, twirling her.

“Look at you! Didn’t you want any tattoos like the others?” he asked, looking her up and down. She smiled, enjoying the attention.

“Nope, I’m fine without. Temporary tattoos irritate my skin, anyway.” she explained, speaking slightly louder than normal due to the music. He gave her a thumbs up, and nodded.

Marisol dances a little closer to Alecto. Everyone appears to chat and dance at the same time. Alecto tripped, not keeping an eye on her own feet, and prepared to faceplant, but Marisol caught her hands, dipping her and playing it off as part of the dancing. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment, dipping her head slightly.

“Thanks. These heels are far too high, I don’t know why I thought it would be a good idea to wear them. That, and I suck at dancing. So you’re really my saviour here.” Alecto gave Marisol a relieved smile. The small amount of contact caused her hands to vibrate slightly. She was so close to Marisol she could see the different colours in her hair, the dark brown changing into caramel/dark blonde gradually. She had never considered dyeing her own hair, not wanting the hassle. 

“No problem. So what happened today with those two?” Marisol disco-points at Priya, and then at Hope, disguising it as dance moves. 

“I’m not going to gossip anymore. Besides, Alecto is likely sick of being the calm person sorting messes out. So we could maybe discuss something else?”

“Yeah, right, Lottie. Do we need to beg for details?” Gary looked at Lottie with surprise.

Lottie dances with confidence.

“No, I mean it. I need to make better decisions about how I treat people here.” Lottie made eye contact with Alecto then her eyes looking over to Marisol. _That must be to do with the way she acted about the kiss, right?_

“I’m impressed, Lottie.” Marisol looked at her with surprise.

“It’s hard to know when to keep a secret and when not to, though.” Ibrahim cut in. He had been very quiet since Operation Nope.

“True. But let’s all be extra careful about those situations from now on.” Lottie acknowledged him.

“Agreed. But for now, let’s just dance it out!” Marisol grinned.

“That’s a good idea. I can’t exactly dance, so I’ll have to be careful.” Alecto replied.

“I like that too.” Gary nodded.

Marisol starts to dance with Alecto, eventually pulling the whole group into it. Alecto felt so close to both Marisol and Lucas, it was warm in the middle of the dancing pile.

“I hear footsteps!” Marisol called out. 

The group separated slightly, the confusion causing Alecto to scan the crowd in panic, until Lucas linked hands with her, leading her to where he stood with Marisol. 

Alecto looked over, noticing a strange pairing stood in the garden. The tiny blonde had a tank of a man beside her. 

“I can’t believe I’m here!” the girl bounced up and down on the spot. The excitement was coming off her in waves.

“Hi, ladies.” The man next to her winked.

Marisol leans in and whispers to Alecto. “He’s so fit.” 

“OMG! Hi, everyone!” Chelsea runs straight for Alecto, arms out for a hug. Alecto avoids the oncoming hug, hiding behind Lucas, but Chelsea just laughs.

“That’s Alecto! So hilarious! It feels like I know you already! I’m Chelsea, and that’s Jakub! We’ve seen every episode so far.” Chelsea grinned. The energy coming from her was starting to exhaust Alecto already. _Surprise hugs aren’t fun. You’d prefer to have control over physical contact with people, not have people force you to do stuff against your will. She can’t know you, anyway. Not really. If you hug someone yourself or show affection, it’s proof that you trust them._

Alecto moved out from behind Lucas, keeping her distance from Chelsea.

"You've been watching us?" Hope asked. 

"That's right, And let me just say one thing. If the boys here aren't up for the challenge of a real woman like Priya, I am." Jakub answered, winking at Priya. 

Alecto felt herself fade slightly, until a sentence brought her back to Earth with a thump. 

“But I think the big thing was that kiss.” 

Alecto’s eyes widened, and she tensed up, feeling Lucas put a gentle arm around her shoulders. She leaned into him, watching the argument between Noah and Hope restart. She bit her lip, hard, and made eye contact with Lottie, noticing how pale the tall blonde had turned. 

“That’s actually not what I’m talking about.” Chelsea broke in.

A nervous silence takes over the Islanders.

Gary slaps his forehead, avoiding eye contact with Alecto and Lottie.

All eyes are on Chelsea. She’s clearly excited to drop the news. 

“Lottie, you were supposed to be the loyal one.” Chelsea began.

“I am!”

“Then how did you end up snogging Gary, and Alecto in the same night? When you knew Alecto had something going on with him?” Chelsea looked at Lottie with concern.

_So that night, when Gary had to choose between Marisol and Hannah at the recoupling and Hannah got sent home...Lottie kissed him. The same night she kissed you. Oh no. No wonder she wanted to keep this quiet. Marisol’s got involved with this, again._

Alecto retreated into herself further, feeling Lucas pull her closer to him. He looked at her with worry, and she gave him a wobbly smile, wanting to cover her hands with her ears. She could feel her concentration wavering, along with her vision. Her eyes were swimming slightly, and as she removed her glasses, she was surprised to feel tears.

The base of Marisol’s champagne flute hits the table with a thud. 

“So it _was_ you who Gary kissed after the recoupling? Thought as much. And, you kissed Alecto the same night, yet started to have a go at her for wanting to tell the truth.” Marisol focused on Gary. “And as for you, you judged Alecto for kissing Lottie despite doing the same yourself. Talk about a hypocrite.”

Lottie’s face turns beetroot red. Her hair falls in front of her face. Gary separates Lottie from Marisol, protecting her with his body. Jakub cuts in just as she’s about to speak. 

“What’s all this then? I thought we were having a party, and I’ve got some fit girls I wanna get chirpsing with.” Jakub frowned.

"Yeah, I think maybe we should give these guys some space." Rahim said.

“Smart idea. I’m not in the mood to have my evening ruined.” Marisol nodded. She catches Alecto’s hand gently. Alecto’s vision blurs, and she tunes out of the conversation. Marisol leading her away from the party, to the roof terrace. On the way, she felt her legs give out, expecting to fall for real this time. She grabbed Marisol’s arm, and she steadied her, leading her to the roof terrace and helping her sit down in a nest of cushions. She sits next to her, brushing her hair from her face. 

A comfortable silence remains, Alecto blinking and trying to clear her vision. Her heart was racing in her chest, and she tried to catch her breath, desperate for air. Everything was overwhelming, the noise and amount of people made her feel so small. Her head won’t stop spinning, and tears are spilling down her cheeks. She opens her mouth, trying to speak past the lump in her throat and failing. She closes her eyes, welcoming the blackness over her spinning vision.

She registers Marisol’s hand holding hers. 

“Alecto? Can you hear me?” her ears feel strange, like she has to push past clouds to hear Marisol’s voice. Alecto nodded and wiggled her fingers, unable to do more than that. 

“This will pass. Just try to breathe in and out, slowly and deeply. You don’t need to talk to me, just focus on stabilising yourself.” she feels Marisol squeeze her hand gently and focuses on the feeling of her warm hand, and the developing spark in her palm. 

It feels longer than the 5 minutes it actually is. She takes in a breath and holds it, taking slow, deep breaths to regulate her racing heart and to shift the persistent lump in her throat.She feels herself let out a sob, surprised by her tears being audible. She had learnt to cry silently, without people noticing it, used to hiding herself. She opens her eyes, relieved her vision had steadied enough to just deal with blurry vision. Marisol wipes her tears with her finger, her hand lingering on Alecto’s cheek. She feels no rush to speak, waiting to organise her words enough.

“Thank you for caring, and standing up for me again. All of this got too overwhelming, I’m relieved that you picked up on it and led me away. Everything was just too loud, and too much at once. I’m sorry that you’re missing the party for me.”

Marisol laughed slightly, it catching in her throat. “I don’t care about the party. But you, on the other hand, you’re my best friend. If I followed the others, I’d only be worried about you, and not wanting you to get pulled into the drama again.”

“I’m relieved, in a way, that this happened. The other option was entirely flipping out at people, letting myself get really angry, which I would later regret. Despite this anxious spiral/anxiety attack being exhausting, I feel much more free. Holding in emotions is difficult. Eventually I’ll boil over. I’m so used to pretending to be okay, that letting myself be vulnerable is difficult. I guess that’s left over from Étienne and Andromeda, and being ignored if I was anything but positive. Andromeda especially, would pretend that her other friends weren’t bullies, and that they weren’t targeting me. Being ignored can get to you, and mess with your head. Anyway, you likely don’t want to hear about my past, so I’ll shut up again.” Alecto clamped her mouth shut, removing her heels and retrieving the snack bowl, settling it on her lap. 

“Wait.” she eyed it carefully, noticing how full it was. “Isn’t this the party snack bowl? Won’t they miss it?”

Marisol shrugged, grabbing a handful of crisps. “Oh well. There’s still snacks there. And I don’t think they’ll mind, somehow.” 

Alecto nodded, starting to eat some crisps, aiming for the bowl with her crumbs. She was always quite a neat and dainty eater, and crisps didn’t change that. Eventually, she felt full, and leant her head against Marisol’s shoulder.

“Um. Do you have my glasses? It feels a little fuzzy here.” Marisol gently moved Alecto’s head from her shoulder, putting her glasses on. 

“The part of this mess that bothers me the most is the entire lack of care of other people’s feelings from both of them. I mean, I’ve been nothing but open and honest with Lottie in particular, trying to treat her with respect. It did feel like Lottie’s feelings for Gary had came out of nowhere, yet they’d been there since that kiss. You didn’t really stand much of a chance of a stable couple with him, either.” Alecto looked over to Marisol.

“I’m not overly surprised. I was aware that he wanted to pick you over me, it does feel like literally everyone likes you over me. Sorry, that came out wrong. I just… I’m sorry. It just hurts to be this unlucky, yet taking it out on you is hardly fair. I was planning to try acting on my feelings for Lucas, but I couldn’t. You mean much more to me than that, and he’s absolutely enamoured with you. He doesn’t notice anyone else while you’re around.” Marisol sighed, looking down at her lap, hiding behind long hair.   
“Hey. I do understand. Hopefully soon you’ll be lucky. I know you haven’t had the best luck in here, but that might turn. You never know.” Alecto smiles over at Marisol, pushing her hair from her face and lightly catching hold of her chin, turning Marisol’s head to face her. 

Marisol blushed at the unexpected contact, looking at Alecto. From this position she could see the freckles on Alecto’s face, and where the colours changed in her eyes. _She’s right about that. Hopefully anyway. She doesn’t appear to have given up on you, and she’s considered the possibility of being more than friends. Alecto’s the only real possibility for you: Lucas only sees Alecto like that (and maybe Hope), you’ve been there and done that with Gary, Bobby doesn’t appear to have feelings for any of the girls, Rahim’s not your type and you’re not getting involved in the Nope mess. Maybe Jakub? Likely not though._

“I just have the bad luck to keep falling for the same guys as you, and once they see you, there’s no chance for me. Which really isn’t your fault. If anything, I can handle Gary and Lucas liking you. But Bobby? He tried to get me involved in this mess, disregarding my feelings. It felt like I was an afterthought to him, the obstacle he had to shift to get to you. When you don’t even like him like that! I don’t either, but...it’s more like he didn’t think. I must sound so pathetic right now. And I can’t figure out how to word stuff either. This isn’t me, I don’t struggle with words and ramble.” Marisol bit her lip, blushing further. 

“I did chew him out over trying to get you involved. So he should be apologising to you at some point. I get it, you don’t like him in the romantic sense, but you want to be at least civil, if not friends. Both him and Priya were only thinking of themselves and causing chaos in the process. There’s only two couples who’ve come out of this unscathed, if that helps. I’ll probably need to mediate the argument at some point, otherwise that’ll take everyone over. I’m not in a rush, though. Partially because I don't want to put those high heels back on.”

Marisol stood. “What size feet are you? You could borrow a pair of my shoes if you like, I have boots the same colour as your dress. I’m a size 5 in boots, but size 4 in regular shoes.” 

“Same. That might work, I can’t stand these shoes. Thanks.” Alecto smiled at her.

Marisol grabbed the high heels, disappearing downstairs to the dressing room. She had organised her shoes neatly, so was able to retrieve the boots and a pair of socks relatively quickly, before returning upstairs. She handed them over to Alecto, grabbing the bowl of snacks and taking a seat again. 

“I’ll see you later, wish me luck.” Alecto disappeared downstairs, leaving Marisol on the roof terrace. 


	31. Chapter 31

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! A double update today, this is basically a late 20th birthday present for me. This will be the last double update in a while, so enjoy. In addition, I started a Lottie x MC fic recently so feel free to check that out if that’s your jam.

Alecto stopped in the kitchen, pouring herself a glass of juice. If she had to calm this down, she needed to remain level headed. 

With her drink, Alecto made her way over to the small group on the grass, stopping towards the edge. She watched them warily, seeing if they noticed her. She kept enough distance, starting to regret deciding to sort this out. 

The group was in complete silence, apart from Priya who paced back and forth, her heel rapping sharply against the decking. 

“So you’re telling me...that after all your ranting about Girl Code...and after everything you’ve said about me and Alecto...this whole time, you were just sitting on the fact that you’d kissed your supposed best friend’s guy  _ and _ your best friend on the same night and not even hours after she was coupled up with someone else.” Priya scowled at Lottie. 

“Yep, that’s totes what it looked like to me, babes.” 

Lottie shot a glare at Chelsea, and Alecto felt her eyebrow raise.  _ She wasn’t even involved! Yet she’s decided to stick her nose in. _

“Where have you been, anyway? You vanished.” Lottie’s sharp tone bit at Alecto. 

“Roof terrace. This situation got too much for me and caused me to have an anxiety attack. Our kiss was one thing, but the fact you’d kissed Gary the same night, failed to tell me anything at all about it, and tried to keep both kisses entirely quiet wasn’t your best idea.” Alecto kept a neutral tone, not letting Lottie get the better of her. She was aware she didn’t look her best, her eyes were red-rimmed from tears.

“It was two separate kisses! Neither of them have anything to do with each other!” 

“Yeah? Well I haven’t kissed anyone I wasn’t supposed to, but somehow I’m still the bad guy in your eyes.” Priya snapped.

“Not for lack of trying.”

“Well, you went one further than just trying with Gary and Alecto, didn’t you? And tried to hide it. Alecto deserves better than you for a ‘best friend’, and I think she’s moved on already. She doesn’t need you.” Priya stopped pacing and came to stand in front of Lottie, crossing her arms. “I think you need to tell us what happened.”  _ That was harsh, but you can’t defend Lottie this time. And she knows that. _

“Oh, oh, I can tell you that!” Chelsea jumped in.

“Thanks babes, but I want to hear it from her.” Priya focused on Lottie, who averted her gaze.

“I don’t want to talk about it, and you know nothing about my friendship with Alecto.” 

“Why? Because you’ve realised you’re a massive hypocrite?” 

“She...she evidently doesn’t want to.” Lottie looked over at Alecto with surprise, moving past Priya and standing beside Alecto, linking hands. Her hands were icy cold, which was a shock.

“What she wants doesn’t matter at this stage, babes. She doesn’t get to do stuff like that and still go around being judgy about everyone else.” Priya protested.

“Maybe I’d be happier to say what happened if you weren’t getting all up in my face about it?” Lottie snapped, glaring at Priya.

Priya groaned, tugging at her hair in frustration.

“What about Alecto? And Marisol?”

Chelsea’s face beamed.“You should  _ totes  _ have seen the tweets about…”

Priya stepped up to Lottie, narrowing her eyes.“You talk big about loyalty, but right now, you’re being the biggest snake here,” Priya snapped.  _ Right. Hang on, let’s halt this. _

“I don’t mind what she did...Gary and I weren’t technically coupled up when this happened....and...and regardless of how I feel about him, I can get past this...” Alecto struggled to keep her voice from wavering, staring at a spot on the floor in front of her and breathing deeply, trying to keep from crying again. She let go of Lottie’s hand.  _ That’s a lie, if ever you heard one. You’re the opposite of okay about this. Also poor Marisol, again.  _

“Thanks, babe.” Lottie was still frowning,but her voice softened slightly.

“You can’t really believe that! She’s treated you so badly, and you’re just letting her walk all over you. And what about how she treated me?” Priya pleaded with Alecto, trying to get her to look in her direction.  _ She’s right. Yet you’re too tired for this. This was a mistake. _

“I don’t need any of this. From any of you.” Lottie curled her lips in a snarl. 

“But babes, we all saw you. You---” Chelsea broke in.

“Especially you. Like, if you’ve got a problem with me, just say so. But don’t have it out for me before you’ve even spoken to me,” Lottie cut her off, directing vibrant green eyes at Chelsea.

“But I don’t---”

“I’m an acquired taste. If you don’t like me, acquire some taste. See you later, girls.” Lottie sauntered off just as Lucas, Gary, Bobby and Rahim came up the steps.  _ Finally! More people. _

“Urgh! That’s so Lottie. She’ll get over it. But for now, us girlies should get our party vibes going.”

“You...don’t have the right to judge her or any of us.” Alecto’s words were barely audible.  _ Any chance you had to sort the Lottie thing has been destroyed. Not that you wanted to, or do you? _

Chelsea trotted over to the drinks table, ignoring the boys huddled nearby.

“Gin o’clock? Aw. No gin.”

“Actually... I think the guys are hoping to speak to you.” Alecto watched her carefully, her entire body tense.  _ Please take the hint here. You want her to leave you alone. _

“Well, the guys can wait then, can’t they?” Chelsea threw them a wink as she unscrewed the top off a bottle. She turned to Priya. “Large? Or extra large?” But Priya ignored her. She heaves a sigh of exasperation.

“I’m sorry, you guys. I hope you know I’m not always this extra. And Alecto, I can tell the situation with both kisses is getting to you. Maybe expecting you to go against Lottie wasn’t a great idea, and we’re not close in the slightest, but I’ll be here for you if you need me.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I totally already know that. You’re, like, so chill.”

“It’s not your fault! You weren’t the one to kiss two people in one night, after all. I’m just so fed up of drama.”

“Thank you for saying that. I’m just through with it all.” Priya got up and walked back towards the Villa without another word, leaving Alecto and Chelsea staring at each other. There’s a moment of silence before Gary stepped towards them.

“Good time to cut in, girls? Figured us lads were being a pretty weak welcome wagon for the new girl,” Gary said.  _ Yes please. Leave you in peace! _

“Aww, that’s so cute! You guys wanna get to know me?”

“Well, yeah…,” Bobby said.

“That’s adorable! But I’m afraid it’ll have to wait. My girl Alecto and I were gonna have some bonding time. Weren’t we, Alecto?” Chelsea grinned. Alecto looked over to Lucas, signalling for help with her eyes.

“We were…?” 

“Well, obviously! Shoo! Shoo!” Chelsea chased most of them off before walking back over to the drinks table and pouring out another glass of bubbly. She goes to hand it to Alecto, but noticed her full glass. Lucas moved closer to Alecto, putting an arm around her shoulders and pulling her closer to him, feeling herself relax against him. 

“Look, whatever you want to say to me you can say with Lucas around, alright? I’m staying away from alcohol tonight if you don’t mind.” She sighed, eyeing Chelsea warily. Alecto was exhausted and regretting her decision to help calm the storm that was Lottie. 

“That’s fine, all the more bubbly for me then. It’s so weird being in here with you guys. Like, even before now, I felt like I already knew you all. Like we could just go out for Pinot Grigios, like, tomorrow. Now every time someone brings up toes I’m like ‘when are they gonna make a Bobby joke’.”

“Um… slightly too early for that. Don’t believe everything you see on TV.” Alecto’s voice wavered again, and Lucas gently squeezed her hand, grounding her.  _ And she’s so high energy! The exact opposite to you. You’re lucky to have Lucas, he picks up all of your anxious signals. _

“It’s past 5, isn’t it?” Chelsea looked confused.

“I meant more that we’ve just met…” Alecto bit her lip, looking over into the distance.

Chelsea waved a dismissive hand. From the corner of Alecto’s eye, she saw the rest of the boys make their way back up the steps towards them. They hovered at a safe distance, glancing over occasionally.

“Whatever. I wanted to talk with you about this Lottie situation. Like, obviously I just said it because it was interesting, and obviously she’s taken it as this big personal issue…” Lucas frowned at Chelsea’s comment. 

Alecto cleared her throat, looking over at Chelsea. “You do realise I was also involved, right? Your ‘interesting’ comment did hurt me. It also hurt Marisol, so I do understand about her taking it as a personal issue. It seemed like you were picking at Lottie, just deliberately trying to hurt her. I can’t speak for her, but all I do know is you hurt me.” Alecto explained, surprised at her level head.  _ It takes all your remaining energy to do this, hopefully it pays off.  _

“I’m sorry. I never intended it to be like that, but you don’t need to hear about my intentions. I hurt you, which is all that really matters, so I’m sorry. You’re really different in real life, much quieter. How serious would you say it is?” Chelsea bit her lip nervously. 

“Unless you apologise, you’re cancelled. Which sounds harsh, but you did hurt her. Yep, that’s a comment I hear often. And thank you for the apology, I do appreciate that, and respect you for owning up to it.” Alecto softened her expression, giving her a tiny smile.

“You know her better than I do. How can I get on her good side?” Chelsea asked.

“Don’t try to explain, because it’ll sound like you’re making excuses. Just apologise. Like you just did for me.”

“Really?”

“Trust me.” Alecto nodded.

Chelsea put down her glass as Alecto leaned into Lucas, nearly tipping over. She was so tired. Lucas wrapped his arm around her stomach, keeping her on her feet. He kissed her on her forehead, in the small gap in her fringe. The small contact started to ease her racing heart, she was so relieved she had asked him to stay.

The other boys began to move in, scrambling again at the sound of approaching heels. Lottie’s eyes were puffy, her makeup smudged beneath them. She marched up to Chelsea, looking her straight in the eye.

“Why me? You could’ve said something about anyone. It’s so clear you have it out for me, so just say so.” Chelsea risked a glance in Alecto’s direction.

“No, don’t look at her. Look at me. Why me?” Alecto nodded encouragingly. There’s a pause. Chelsea looked Lottie in the eye.

“I’m really sorry, Lottie. It was never meant to be personal, but I don’t want to make excuses for myself, either. I’m sorry.” There’s a pause as Chelsea looks away. Lottie frowned, opening her mouth to talk. But she stops short. Her expression softened, just a little. 

Someone cleared their throat.

‘Is this a bad time?” Marisol asked.

“Oh, thank goodness. This is an absolute cluster, babes. I wanted to fix things, but guess I suck at that like everything else.” Alecto sighed with relief, letting out a little yawn.  _ Hold on. Chelsea apologised here, which is slightly better than before. Your thoughts aren’t necessarily always accurate.  _

“Well, I was actually hoping I could steal you away, Alecto. And finally give these poor guys a chance to talk to Chelsea.” Marisol rolled her eyes. The rest of the boys, standing nearby, glanced over with eager expressions.

“I’m not done here.” Lottie protested.

“Save it until tomorrow, Lottie. Chelsea’s only just arrived and she’s already had enough of you to last the whole summer.” 

Lottie scowled. She stepped reluctantly away from Chelsea before burying her face in Gary’s chest. The other boys moved in. Lucas let go of Alecto, steadying her before he moved towards Chelsea, sending a last concerned glance her way. 

Marisol sighs. “You too, Bobby.” She looked over at him reluctantly.  _ So he hasn’t apologised, then.  _

“Fiiine.” Bobby dragged himself away from Chelsea and followed Alecto and Marisol down towards the kitchen.

Alecto rested her chin on clasped hands, trying to keep herself awake, as Marisol sat across from her at the breakfast bar. The milk steamer roars as Bobby fixes all of them a hot chocolate.

“So that was...interesting. Like, I think ‘party’ and I think of smiling, dancing, and maybe Noah trying to twerk on the daybeds. That sort of thing. Which wasn’t far off what we had going on down at the pool, to be fair.” Bobby grinned at them.  _ Oh shit. You don’t drink hot chocolate. _

“Um, Bobby? I’m not a fan of hot chocolate.” Alecto’s eyes watered as she yawned again, taking a sip of the juice she had poured earlier, in front of her. “Sorry, I’m so tired for some reason.”

“No worries. I already started making them, so I can give them away to someone else anyway. Should have asked, really. What do you want instead?” Bobby nodded.

“I love milkshakes.” She finished her glass of juice, pushing the empty glass over to him and he grabbed it, humming slightly while tapping his hands on the counter. He washed out the tall glass and left it upside down on the draining board. He retrieved another glass, filled it with chocolate powder from a small container, added milk and stirred it, giving it back to Alecto, who curled a hand around the glass and leaned her head on her other arm. Her eyes flicked shut and she opened them again.

“Noah is something special, I’ll give you that. Hopefully you can stay awake a bit longer, Alecto. You do look ready to drop off.” Marisol nudged her, sending her a soft smile which vanished as she looked over to Bobby.

Alecto looked over to the pool. Jakub, Hope and Noah were still chatting and laughing together.

“But that argument? I wasn’t loving that argument.” Bobby frowned, Marisol nodding in agreement.  _ As usual, you were the one calming that despite being fragile yourself. You’re pretty strong, like a tough flower. _

“I was really hoping for a fun evening after all the drama we’ve had lately...And Lottie seemed to be turning over a new leaf, softening at least. Then the new Islanders arrived, and Chelsea tried to hug me, which scared me off completely. She said that she knows us when all she’s seen is the TV narrative, so she can’t truly know us. Then she spilled the beans about both kisses, and then, well...I’m back to not trusting Lottie yet again...And it feels like other people’s feelings don’t matter to her.” Alecto bit her lip, looking down into her glass. Her words kept shaking, and she struggled to look over to Marisol, knowing she was on the verge of tears yet again.

“I feel you.” Bobby moved over to her, putting a gentle hand on her shoulder. 

“It’s all just getting a little much... First we’re jumping from one feud to the next, now there are two going on at the same time... Along with the situation with Lottie overall. Maybe it’s time the sensible people tried to sort it out, you know? What do you think? I’m sorry to pull you into the peacemaker role yet again...but you were good earlier. It wasn’t the dumpster fire you led me to believe, you actually appeared to make a little progress with both of them.” Marisol linked hands with her across the counter, squeezing her hand and trying to get Alecto to look up at her.  _ Oh no. This is just peachy. But you can’t exactly say no to her.  _

“Got...got a plan?” Alecto’s voice wavered, she looked over at Marisol, feeling tears start to appear again.

“Well, it’s a little basic, and I haven’t thought it through entirely...but I was more or less thinking we talk to them? Obviously there are two different things going on right now. Whatever that just was between Lottie, Chelsea and Priya. And this Noah business between Priya and Hope...Along with the issue surrounding the two kisses with me, you and Lottie, which is more both of us being upset at Lottie. But that can wait, I’m not in a hurry to make up with her. It might do you good to give that half of it a rest. I figure the Noah business has been put on the backburner, so unless any obvious opportunities arise, we tackle the other situation with Lottie first, alright? That’s our strategic priority,” Marisol explained, flashing a grin.

“Yes, sir!”

“Alecto, will you try and get Lottie and Chelsea in a room? It doesn’t have to be an actual room, obviously. Just get them both to give their side of the story of what happened last night, talk about their feelings, make sure nobody gets aggy. That sort of thing,” Marisol asked, focusing on Alecto.

“And if you could do the same for Lottie and Priya, too, that would be great,” Bobby chipped in.

“What will you guys be doing while I appear to be tackling most of the work here?” To her surprise, Alecto’s words were stable as she watched Marisol sceptically.  _ You really don’t have the best record when it comes to sorting stuff related to Lottie. You find yourself automatically conceding to her. _

Marisol bit her lip, fiddling with a lock of hair. “I’ll try and talk to Priya and Hope separately, and I’ll get Bobby talking to Lottie too, and maybe Noah. Assuming that sounds good to you, Bobby?”

“Not sure I trust Lottie in enclosed spaces, but sure, that sounds good to me.” Bobby nodded.

“With a joint effort, we should be able to get everyone back on the same page.” Marisol nodded in agreement. 

Alecto looked over at Bobby, raising an eyebrow. She tried to signal to him to apologise. At last, Bobby placed three mugs of hot chocolate on the table, complete with cream, marshmallows and sprinkles.

“Voila! Chocolat chaud à la Bobby.” Bobby grinned.  _ Excellent pronunciation there. You’re impressed, much better than Rocco. _

His face went serious as he looked over to Marisol. “Marisol, I’m sorry for trying to convince you to participate in Operation Nope, and not considering your feelings. I understand we’re in a friendship couple, but trying to get you to kiss Noah so I’d have an excuse to try and get Alecto to like me was wrong. Alecto gave me a major talking to about it, she’s a great friend. You’re lucky to have her for a best friend. Anyway, I know the past week has been hard on you, and it’s understandable that you didn’t want to get involved with more drama and risk your friendships with Hope and Alecto. It was far from friendly of me, and I’m really sorry.” He pushed the hot chocolate over to her.

“Oh! I’m...not actually a fan of hot chocolate. But I appreciate the thought, and the apology.” 

Bobby rolls his eyes, clutching his heart in shock.

“Now you tell me! Why didn’t you tell me earlier? Who doesn’t like hot chocolate?! You gonna cancel my birthday too?” Bobby winked at Marisol and slid into a seat at the breakfast bar. A moustache of whipped cream appearing on his top lip.

“I was still mad at you for OP Nope, trying to involve me in it was pretty cold and hurt my feelings. Only Alecto appeared to notice, too. But I appreciate the apology.” Marisol leaned her head on her hands and looked over at him. 

“I understand that now.” He reached out a hand to her and she took it. “Both of you? One of you is one thing, but both of you! Wow. Wow. I’m shocked! I’m in the presence of imposters here! Please tell me you at least like chocolate?”

“I have a chocolate milkshake here, so what do you think? I might know something about the person eating all the chocolate and snacks too. Better than it going to waste.” Alecto tapped her nose. 

“Evil! You’re the chocolate thief. Grr.” Bobby folded his arms in a pretend huff. “Just a suggestion, but maybe try cold hot chocolate later?

Marisol looked between the two of them, an amused grin on her face. “If you two are done, shall we get back to business? Are you in, Alecto?”

“Fine. Just I’ll give you a warning, Lottie intimidates me a little, so I struggle to stand up to her. Both of us are likely the most sensible people here, but I’d say Bobby likely will have better luck with Lottie.”

“Knew I could count on you.” Marisol grinned, her eyes lighting up. Her grin made Alecto feel warm inside, easily returning it. 

“What a foot.” Bobby smiled.  _ Christ, that’s a bad joke. Leg-end, right? _

“Leg-end, you mean.” She smirked at him, laughing despite herself.

“Oh man. You stole my punch line!” Bobby pouted. 

This time, Marisol rolled her eyes.

“You in, Bobby?” She asked.

“Like a toad in a hole.” He nodded

“Perfect. Let’s head back inside.”  _ Yay! You do enjoy seeing them bounce off each other, it’s a little hilarious. _

As Alecto slid off her seat, Bobby motioned towards Marisol’s untouched hot chocolate.

“You should take that with you. See if anybody else wants it. Someone who appreciates my beautiful creations.” He pretended to be hurt, clutching his chest dramatically.

Marisol nudged him playfully.

Alecto grabbed the milkshake, and one of the warm mugs of hot chocolate and made her way back towards the Villa. Marisol took the remaining mug and eventually followed behind her.

As she approached the stairs, she spotted Hope sitting alone on one of the sofas with her back to Alecto. Hope’s shoulders shuddered as she buried her face in her hands. Alecto looked down at the mug of hot chocolate. She began to make her way towards the stairs, but the heels of Marisol’s boots made it difficult to sneak off, sounding loudly as she walked. Hope turned around.

“Alecto?”

“Sorry. Just, err, turning in for the night. I’ll see you in a bit.” Alecto yawned, her eyes watering and blurring her vision. She waited to recover, stopping in her tracks.

Hope hung her head, sniffing. She nodded. “Yeah...OK then. You do look absolutely exhausted.” She turned back around. Alecto glanced back at the mugs of hot chocolate, and carried on walking towards the bedroom. After a few seconds, she heard Marisol’s voice.  _ Okay, good. Marisol’s with her, that’s a relief. You just couldn’t take more emotion today. Maybe Marisol gave her the other hot chocolate?  _

Alecto walked into the bedroom. The others were all tucked away in their duvets, whispering. Bobby ran past her and dive-bombed onto the bed, tangling himself in sheets. A few of the others laugh. Alecto disappeared into the dressing room, settling the drinks on the dressing table. She changed into her pajamas, brushing out her hair and putting her hair clip safely away. She grabbed the drinks, heading back into the bedroom and to her bed. Lucas beamed and made space on the bed.

“Come here, you.” Alecto glances down at the drinks in her hands. She passes the warm mug to Lucas and he grinned. 

“Nice surprise!” The lights go off just as she’s sliding into bed, settling her drinks on her bedside table. She clinked the glass with Lucas’ mug. She finished her milkshake, struggling to keep her eyes open. Lucas cuddled up to her and gave her a kiss on the shoulder. 

“Goodnight beautiful.” Alecto settled the empty glass back on her bedside table before moving closer to Lucas, curling herself into him and letting her hair spread out on the pillow. Her eyes closed quickly, dropping off entirely to sleep, exhausted.


	32. Chapter 32

Alecto woke up. Sunlight poured in through the windows. Only half the beds were made, but all of them were empty. She yawned, sitting up in bed.  _ You never oversleep! Like, never. But you were exhausted last night.  _

Alecto retrieved her glasses from the bedside table, noticing a mug settled there. She went to grab it and drew her hand away, it was unexpectedly hot.  _ What a nice surprise! Someone made you tea, just the way you like it too. _

Alecto grabbed the mug by the handle and walked over to the window and peered outside to see the Islanders hanging around the gym. The girls seem captivated by something Jakub was saying. Just as she was about to get ready, the bathroom door opened and Lucas stepped into the room. His skin glistened with moisture, his wet hair sticking to his brow. Alecto settled the mug back on her bedside table, waiting for him to notice her. He came straight over to her and wrapped her up in his arms, kissing her on the forehead. 

“You’re all wet!” Alecto looked at him with surprise.

“I’m giving you a pre-shower. Like a shower before you shower.”

She nodded, giving him a thumbs up.  _ Wait. That’s cheesy. _

He stepped back and looked her up and down. He led her over to the bed and lay down. She flopped down beside him. 

“You looked exhausted yesterday so I thought you needed extra sleep. You’re usually up before me, so the fact you were still in bed was strange. After the mess yesterday, I got Marisol to help me make sure you had peace, and she helped me make you a cup of tea. I hope you enjoy it.” He gave her a shy smile.

“Thank you, that’s so kind of you. Yesterday was difficult for me, I was so tired having to fight fire after fire. I’ll need to thank Marisol too, it was so kind of both of you. And I’ve already said that! Well, not that precisely, oh dear. Zipping lips now, promise, sorry for rambling and being weird.” Alecto blushed, fanning herself slightly, which did nothing to help the growing blush on her cheeks. Her long dark hair was wild from her sleep, she felt Lucas gently fiddle with a loose lock of it.

“You don’t need to apologise for rambling, or being weird. There’s nothing wrong with either, you’re just unusual and rare and should embrace it. Also, you’re very much welcome, my pleasure. Do you believe in fate, Alecto?” he changed the subject, looking over at her.

“Soulmate theory can be defined partially by at least the presence of fate. But I don’t entirely follow that myself. If fate existed, then that means I was doomed to end up stuck with Étienne, and be cheated on by him, so I don’t overly like the idea. So in short, no, I’m the master of my own destiny. Soulmate theory has multiple strands, it makes no sense to focus on just one when I can take parts of all of them,” she explained.

“That’s how I feel, too. I am where I am because of the choices I made. Not because of some plan that I didn’t get a say in.” Alecto cuddled closer to him.

“I choose you.”

“And I choose you.” Lucas rolled over, letting go of her hair. “You look so beautiful in the mornings.”

“I haven’t even showered yet, and my hair’s a mess,” she protested.

“Doesn’t matter. You’re still perfect.” He ran a finger over her lips. “And I don’t think I can stand not kissing you another minute.” He looked at her with longing.

She gazed into Lucas’ eyes and found herself breathless. She took his face in her hands and kissed him hard, pressing her body up against his. His hands moved down to the small of her back, and she started running her fingers through his hair, finding it a little sticky. She recoiled instantly at the strange substance and drew back her hands. 

“Oh,uh…”

“Gel?” Alecto stared at her hands, the sticky substance feeling strange on her skin.

“Gel.” She looked up from her hands, settling them on his shoulders and kissed him again. The sudden kiss caused his breath to hitch. Careful to keep her hands away from his gel, she couldn’t let an awkward moment ruin this for them. She needed him to know how much she wanted him, needed his lips on hers. Summoning all the passion she could, she kissed him feverishly with an intensity she hadn’t felt before. Taking the lead was usually his place, but today she felt a little braver, he tensed at first but quickly relaxed into the kiss, his tongue eagerly meeting hers, only breaking away when Alecto needed to take a breath. His face was a little pink when she pulled away, a little smile on her face at his reaction. 

“You okay there?” She gave him a playful smile and fiddled with a loose lock of hair.

Lucas hesitated.“Yeah, that was just…” He broke into a smile, reaching up to fiddle with his hair. “I’m not used to being kissed like that.”

“Thought it was my turn to leave you speechless.” She winked at him, tapping her nose and sticking her tongue out playfully.

“My life just got a whole lot better. I’m too used to taking a lead on things.” 

Marisol stood at the door, plastering a smile on her face as she watched the couple. She forced herself to pretend to be fine, deliberately widening her smile more than usual. She felt a lurch in her stomach, watching them be so happy was difficult.  _ Hopefully she won’t pick it up, Alecto was far more perceptive than everyone else she’d met. You want to be the one making her that happy.  _

Marisol cleared her throat, snapping herself out of her head. The happy couple looked over at her with blushing cheeks. 

“I’ve been standing here for a while, but you two were clearly too absorbed in one another to notice me. You two are the new ‘lovebirds’ I think, not Nope.” Marisol made air quotes with her fingers, looking delighted at the predicament. She laughed slightly, giving them a wide grin. She does her best to fake happiness, even teasing them slightly. Alecto doesn’t appear to react to her change in tone, and Marisol deflated slightly.  _ Do you want her to notice or not? Make up your mind! _

Lucas rolled to his feet.

“Umm...I’ll see you outside in a bit then. You too, Marisol.” Lucas left in a hurry, his face bright red.

Marisol took his place next to Alecto, flopping next to her. “So...how was your sleep?” 

“Not too bad. I don’t sleep in often so actually sleeping without waking up early is hard.”

“Yeah, you’re usually one of the first up. Lucas insisted you needed to sleep in, which I understood completely. Yesterday was tough for you.” Marisol offered a pained supportive smile and grabbed Alecto’s hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. She let go quickly and ignored the weird sticky feeling on her hands.  _ You really hate getting messy, but it doesn’t really matter. Alecto does matter, though. _

“Lucas asked my advice on your cup of tea, like how you liked it. He really cares for you, you’re really lucky. Like I said before, lovebirds.”

“Please, please stop saying that, Mari! We’re not lovebirds, that’s super cheesy! Anyway, thanks for the cup of tea and helping to clear the bedroom so I could have peace. It means a lot.”

Marisol’s brow furrowed, eyes widened in slight surprise, speechless.

“You okay?” Alecto rolled to face her, gently taking Marisol’s face in her hands. “You’re deep in thought, is it not okay to give you a nickname? I just felt like it fit you, you know. If it bothers you, let me know.”

“No! It… it doesn’t bother me. The opposite, I adore it. I’ve never had someone give me a nickname before. That’s all.” She was slightly panicked, feeling her words come out all at once. Her usual planned self had vanished, she felt herself turning to an awkward mess.

_ Wait. Her hands feel weird, like something sticky is on them. You noticed before, but now you can’t ignore it.  _

“Umm...Alecto? What’s on your hands?” 

Alecto groaned, letting go of Marisol’s face, and hiding behind her hands.“Shit, sorry! It’s gel, from Lucas’ hair. So gross. Eww, I hate being messy. Sorry I got it on your face.”  _ She’s really cute, and deserves a nickname. You’re not actually mad at her for getting gel on you. _

“It’s an honest mistake, no worries. We can easily wash it off. You’re really cute, Allie.” Marisol smiled at Alecto, pushing her fringe out of her eyes. 

“I hate my name, if I’m completely honest. Even shortening it. My middle name is Delyth, so you can call me that if you like. I love my middle name, but don’t mind nicknames too much. Besides, I just gave you one, so I’d be a hypocrite if I hated them myself.” Alecto winced slightly and moved her hands down her face, peeking past them, and resting them on her cheeks. Her voice was slightly muffled through her hands. Alecto blinked at the stickiness and pulled them back. “Oh fuck, why did I do that! Now I need to wash my face too.” She rolled her eyes in exasperation.

“That’s so pretty! My middle name is Olivia, which is so common. You’re Welsh, right? I’d love to call you Delyth, it suits you, but it might be weird for the others. Like, because it’s a completely different name and all. I wouldn’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

“Hmm. I’d say no, regarding calling me Allie, but I’m fine with you calling me Delyth. That fits me far better anyway, if the others have a problem with it, it’s their issue. You do know how difficult it is to say no to you, right? You’re the only person I’ve told, too, so it can be just an us thing. And close! Welsh Canadian actually, half Welsh and half Canadian.” Alecto moved her hands from her face, giving Marisol a gentle smile. Marisol found herself staring at Alecto’s lips, and her eyes, noticing the gold flecks in her irises.  _ What would it feel like to kiss her? You wouldn’t now, she’s so happy with Lucas. Her eyes are just shining, so bright. There’s so much of a difference, you don’t want to snuff out the fire inside her, growing due to love. Her eyes are so pretty, not like yours. You just have boring dark brown eyes, but hers, they change colours in the sunshine and when she’s happy. _

Alecto clicked her fingers in Marisol’s direction. Marisol looked away, her cheeks feeling hot. “You keep vanishing on me, into your own dreamland. Come on then dreamer, let’s wash this off.” Alecto sat up and made her way into the bathroom. Marisol followed her, grabbing Alecto’s mug of tea. 

“I got your tea, so you don’t forget it.” She settled the mug safely on the side, running the water and cleaning her face with her face cloth. Marisol checked her face in the mirror, relieved to find no sticky residue. 

“Thanks, Mari. Much appreciated. I would likely have forgotten it, I’d forget my head if it wasn’t attached to my body. I don’t have time for a shower, so I’ll have one later, I think.” Alecto washed her hands and cleaned her face, drying them with a towel, and grabbing her tea, leaving the bathroom and closing the door behind her, humming softly.

Marisol stared at herself in the mirror, unable to stop herself grinning. Her cheeks were starting to ache from the grin.  _ You only came into the bedroom to check up on her, but Lucas had beaten you to it. You meant everything you said, even though it does hurt, slightly. You don’t want your feelings to cause distance between the two of you, so you’ll try and just be happy for her. You found yourself captivated by her talking about soulmate theory, she explains it so well. You want to know more, you want to know more about her. Maybe you’ll tell her about Olivia too, it does suck to share a name, even if it’s just a middle name, with her.  _

Hope and Noah were doing squats side by side. Ibrahim was skipping with a fluorescent pink rope while Lucas spotted Gary’s deadlifts. Close by was Jakub, lounging on the grass with a single weight held idly at the end of his muscular arm. The others were sprawled on the grass around him, listening to him talk. Everyone present except for Marisol and Bobby.

_ Okay, it appears that you’re the only one of the peacemaking trio in existence. Yay. Note the sarcasm. _

Alecto scanned the group, her eyes falling on Lottie and Chelsea. Hesitantly, she approached them.“Can i chat with you, Chelsea? You too, Lottie.”

Chelsea darted a glance at Lottie. They followed Alecto over to the fire pit, who sat down between the two girls, bridging the space. Lottie pursed her lips, playing with the ends of her hair.

“So...Last night could have gone better. Obviously Chelsea told all of us about both kisses…” Alecto worried her lip, tilting her head to the side in thought. “And...it wasn’t that great for me personally to learn that two kisses had happened, but let’s ignore that. That’s a separate kettle of fish. Anyway, from where I’m standing, it looked like Chelsea was throwing shade at Lottie.” Alecto fiddled with her hair, pushing her glasses up her nose and staring into the distance.

“Kettle of fish?” Lottie muttered under her breath, hiding behind her hair.  _ So that’s what she picks up. Your weird turn of phrase. Nothing else. _

“OMG babes, I promise I wasn’t.” Chelsea’s eyes widened.

“That’s what it looked like, though. I know I wouldn’t like it if someone came in saying stuff about me,” Alecto explained, watching both of them warily.

“Look, I’m sorry, Lottie. I meant what I said last night. And I wasn’t just saying it because Alecto told me to, either.”

Lottie’s gaze flickered to Alecto. She shrugged her shoulders. Chelsea turned to Lottie. 

“All I want is for us to be friends. And before the others interrupted us yesterday, I thought maybe there was a chance, like, after I’d apologised and everything...I just want a chance at a second first impression.” There’s a pause. Alecto looked at Lottie. She flicked her hair out of her face and re-crossed her legs.

“There’s no such thing as a second first impression, hun. There are first impressions, then there are second impressions.” Lottie glanced over at Alecto momentarily. “Not only that, but I’ve been trying to fix things with Alecto already. I messed up with her, and I wanted my best friend back.” She gave Alecto a pained smile, looking apologetic. “I didn’t want to hurt you.” Alecto sighed and avoided eye contact with her. 

Lottie ducked her head in response, and turned back to Chelsea. “So your  _ revelation... _ caused a further set of problems.” Her eyes snapped over to Chelsea again, blazing green sparks.

“Oh, I know that, like, in reality. But I’m all about second first things this year. You’ll see. It’s never too late to fix anything. There’s always a second first. That’s what I like to say. Which could apply to you two also. I was partially trying to defend Alecto myself, but I went completely the wrong way about it.” Lottie still looked unconvinced, but she cracked a small half-smile.

“I cross my heart never meant to sound like I was attacking anyone. Pinky swear.” Chelsea held up her little finger. Lottie hesitated.

“Your call, Lottie.” Alecto looked at her hands, her words nearly quiet enough to disappear. There’s a long pause as Lottie considered. It felt like it went on forever. Until finally…

“You did apologise yesterday. And you didn’t try making excuses. I understand you wanting to be friends with Alecto, too. She’s wonderful, who wouldn’t want to put a smile on her face? I trust you apologised to her, otherwise she wouldn’t be advising you. So..fine. Okay. You’ve got your second chance.” Lottie gave Chelsea her pinky finger. 

Alecto hung back slightly as Chelsea and Lottie walked together, Chelsea chattering Lottie’s ear off. Seeing the two of them together brought a small smile to her face.  _ One down. One to go. Lottie could apologise to you, genuinely, if she’s interested in repairing things. But ball’s in her court. _

Alecto took a deep breath, making eye contact with Lucas, whose eyes flashed with concern. It was likely clear how overwhelmed and exhausted she was. “Priya, Lottie, can we chat?” She pushed fake confidence into her voice, straightening her spine and looking taller than her usual height. Wearing wedges instead of high heels was much easier for her.

“Urgh. I literally just sat down. What is this? ‘Fix Lottie’s Friendships’ Day?’” Lottie snapped. Alecto looked away from Lottie, rolled her eyes and laughed under her breath.  _ If that was true, she’d try to fix what you two had. You don’t overly mind if she doesn’t, you have Hope and Marisol, two friends is more than enough! _

Lottie took her time getting up and stretching before following Alecto over to the daybeds with Priya in tow.

Alecto sat with her back against the headboard as the girls perched on the edge, keeping a measured distance from one another. She cleared her throat.

“Obviously things got a little heated last night. But a few of us want to get this sorted out. Here’s how I see it, we all have to live with each other here. Which means drama like this needs to get resolved. And the way that we do that is by talking.” Alecto coughed, her throat dry, needing water but wanting to get this over with. 

“Well said, Alecto. We definitely have a lot to talk about. And for starters…” Priya turned to Lottie. “I want to know everything that happened that night between you and Gary, and you and Alecto. I think it’s time you told us.” 

Lottie gave the lid of her water bottle a hard, sharp twist. “First off, you can just ask Alecto about the kiss with her. She’s right here! In addition, everyone needs to stop assuming it was me who initiated both kisses.”

“Well, wasn’t it?” Priya looked over at Alecto.

“For the kiss with me it was. And which kiss was first?” Alecto replied.

“It was...mutual with me and Gary, but yes, I did start the kiss with Alecto. Well...Gary knew about me kissing you, I told him after I kissed him.” Lottie stared down at the crumpled duvet, lowering her voice. She moved closer to Alecto, trying to reach out to her. Alecto pulled back from Lottie, creating further distance. Lottie sighed and pulled back her hand. 

“I...I was sad about Hannah, so I went to the bathroom. Alecto heard me crying in there, and she went to check on me. She was leaning on the door, so fell into the room. I caught her before she fell, and we stayed close together. Eventually, I had a feeling I couldn’t understand, a longing to kiss her. I acted on it, kissing her and she kissed back. It felt different to kissing a guy, it did terrify me slightly. I was scared I’d lose my best friend, which happened anyway, so I pretended it didn’t happen and found myself being far colder to Alecto than to anyone else. I couldn’t sleep after that, so went to the kitchen to have a glass of water. Gary found me and he tried to comfort me. We argued a bit, but then he was just sitting there, on the stool next to me and looking...different. I saw him in a different light, and it just happened.. I confessed to him about kissing Alecto, and he didn’t say anything for a while. Then he left, and I spent the whole night feeling like the worst friend in the world. I had kissed both my best friend, and the guy she had feelings for. I even thought about leaving the Villa. I didn’t feel like I could tell anybody. I’m really sorry for the way I treated you after, but not kissing you itself.” Lottie’s voice faded slightly, and Alecto surprised herself, linking hands with Lottie. 

“I...get it. Sometimes this stuff happens in the moment. I don’t regret the kiss either, but losing you did hurt. The important thing is that you’re sorry, and we’re resolving it now. But it doesn’t necessarily make you a bad person. Like, it’s clear you feel terrible about it. I was cheated on before, so the heavy guilt I felt over the kiss myself was also hard to handle. Then Rocco happened. Being cheated on yet again was difficult to handle.” She gave Lottie a genuine smile, her eyes appearing warmer. Lottie nodded in relief, smiling back.

Alecto snuck a glance at Priya. She looked thoughtful, touching a finger to her lip.

“I think I understand, too.” Both Alecto and Lottie turn to stare at Priya who was fiddling with the corner of the duvet at the opposite end to them. Alecto felt herself starting to float off, her lips twitching slightly. 

Priya cleared her throat, eyeing Alecto. Alecto sifted through the conversation she’d heard, trying to catch up. 

“Please don’t get me wrong here. I understand how difficult that must be. It doesn’t make you a bad person, and we’re all human at the end of the day, so make mistakes. I think all three of us can understand. But it was still wrong and you did hurt someone, which shouldn’t be downplayed. Sometimes it’s hard to do the right thing, but that doesn’t make the wrong thing more right. Does that make sense?”

Priya nodded. “That’s the point I was making. All three of us have messed up, and there were things going on that made it harder not to mess up...and there’s definitely space for us to understand and, like, empathise with each other. It doesn't make the mess-up any less, but it does mean we can work together to address our past mistakes.” She turned to Lottie. “I do still wanna talk about how things have been between us, and the way you treated Alecto. Honestly, I want all of us to be friends. But you need to stop attacking me all the time. Neither of us is better or worse than the other. And Alecto deserves to be treated like an equal. I’ve noticed her being able to stand her ground more, and being less intimidated by you, but you still need to work on treating her better. Can we please start over?” Lottie frowned. She threw a glance in Alecto’s direction.

“You’ve got more in common than you think. And I do agree, you have been lashing out at both of us a lot, and I’d love that to stop.”

Lottie looked down at her palms. “Yeah, I guess maybe that’s true. Sorry, Priya and sorry, Alecto.” Alecto squeezed her hand.

“I forgive you. I wish we had addressed this sooner, but I’m thankful we’re friends again.” Alecto gave Lottie a soft smile.

“Apology taken. And I’m sorry about last night, too. That was out of order. Group hug?” Priya leaned over towards both of them and they hugged, Alecto in the middle, exhaling in relief, feeling satisfied but exhausted.

“Let’s head back. I wanna know what this Jakub guy has to say for himself.” Priya grinned.

They released the hug and Priya and Lottie went on ahead with Alecto following behind. She felt slightly dazed, peacemaking was difficult. When she arrived back, she went over to Lucas, leaning against him.

“I saw you all hugging, so you managed it, right? Peacemaking genius, you are. I’m impressed.”

“Thanks. It was very exhausting, but rewarding.Bobby and Marisol will both be pleased. They said they’d help, but turned into me doing all the work. Reminds me of group projects in high school. So that’s a little annoying.” He pulled her closer, kissing her forehead. 

Chelsea’s phone beeps.

“OMG! I finally get to say it! Guys! I got a text!” The other Islanders dropped what they were doing and gathered around. Marisol and Bobby came running from the Villa. “Chelsea and Jakub, it’s time for your first dates. You must each choose two Islanders,” Chelsea squealed. Lucas glanced sidelong at Alecto with a worried expression. Chelsea pursed her lips together and looked at each of the boys in turn. 

“Let’s see. Hmm. For my first date, I’m going to choose…” Chelsea wiggled her finger and pointed. “Rahim!” Ibrahim looked up, startled. Chelsea beamed. “Will you go on a date with me, babes?”

“Uhh…” Rahim looked at Priya. She nodded. “Yeah, I’m up for that.”

“Amazeballs. The second person I want to take on a date is…” Her finger wiggled in the air again. It lingered briefly over Gary before moving over to Lucas. Lottie visibly relaxed. “Lucas!”

“Will you be my second first date, Lucas?” Lucas looked over to Alecto for approval. Alecto bit her lip, gritting her teeth. Lucas suppressed a smile and ruffled her hair. Chelsea ignored Alecto, smiling sweetly at her date. 

“Promise I’ll bring him back in one piece!” Chelsea spun around to face Jakub. “Your turn, babes. I’m out of here.” She walked back to the Villa with Rahim in tow. Jakub looked around.

"Right, I've done a lot of big thinking about this," he grinned, "and the first girl I'd like to take on a date is… Hope." 

Hope’s eyes widened and she looked at Noah like a rabbit in headlights.. 

"It's just a date," Noah said. "Go have fun."

Hope walked away in silence to get ready, without a second glance at Jakub.

Jakub had already turned his attention to his second date, his eyes flicking between both Priya and Alecto with interest. Priya tossed her hair over her shoulder, batting her eyelashes, while Alecto leaned against Lucas, uncomfortable with Jakub’s eyes on her. 

"You girls sure make it hard," Jakub licked his lips.

Bobby muffled a laugh and there was a squeal as Lottie jabbed him with her elbow. 

"Who're you stuck between, mate?" asked Gary.

"Priya and Alecto," Jakub grinned at the two of them, winking. "Who'll it be, ladies? Who wants to go on a date with me?"

Priya looked determined, eyeing Jakub carefully. 

_ Not a chance. Not happening. _

“I’ll take you up on that date, Jakub. I’d better go get ready.” Priya gave him a sultry look before heading inside.

Alecto sighed with relief, flopping slightly against Lucas behind her.

Lucas turned her to face him, smoothing the creases on her brow. 

“Enjoy your date, I suppose... Shoe’s not as fun on the other foot, now I get how Rocco felt on the day of the dates.” She sighed again, biting her lip.

“You’re the one I like. I’m honoured she asked me, but you don’t have anything to worry about. It won’t be long, you’ll be okay.” Lucas hugged her to him, ruffling her hair.

“Thank you for picking that up. Have fun, anyway. I need to quit moping about, and maybe have a little nap. I’m really tired.” She yawned, scrunching up her face.

“I’ll go get ready then. See you later.” He let go of her, looking back at her as he left. She shot him a quick grin with a thumbs up, watching him leave. 


	33. Chapter 33

Alecto blinked, making her way to the dressing room. Her little nap had helped her. The dressing room was pure chaos, clothes scattered everywhere and the noise from hairdryers deafening her. She retrieved an outfit, wanting to get out of the mess and quickly changed, reappearing from behind the screen. 

It was a plain black dress, with a flared skirt, nice and simple.

“I love you in that but...I’d love to see you try something different,” Priya said, looking her up and down. Lottie nodded in agreement. Alecto kept her face neutral, moving to stand by Marisol. A flicker of hurt flashed across her face, but it was gone before anyone could notice, or so she thought.

Marisol nudged her arm. “You look amazing as always, Alecto.” Marisol gave her a warm grin, causing Alecto to flash her a small smile, cheered up by the tiny gesture.

There was a knock at the door. Lucas peered through. 

“Do you mind?! There could be naked ladies in here!” Lottie snapped.

“I did knock…,” Lucas protested. Lottie rolled her eyes as he turned to Alecto.

“Mind if we chat?” His expression looked strange, putting her on edge.

“S...sure…” Alecto followed him out of the room, releasing her hair from its dark braid and putting the hair bobble on her wrist. Her hair formed ringlets, the natural waves becoming more pronounced and framing her face.

He linked hands with her and led her outside to the firepit, remaining silent the entire journey. Alecto found herself holding her breath, a strange tension hanging in the air between them.  _ Is this a bad sign? Is everything okay between us, you’re the happiest you’ve ever been. You don’t see anything that possibly could be wrong, but you’re worried all the same. _

He sat down at the firepit and she sat down across from him. The firelight cast a flickering orange glow over his skin. 

“I know this is gonna sound like it’s coming out of nowhere really fast, but I thought we should have a chat and make sure we’re both on the same page,” Lucas explained, relaxing slightly.

“Woah, okay. Should I put a seatbelt on or…?” Alecto bit her lip.  _ Did his date with Chelsea go well then? Is he going to leave you? _

“Nah, nothing like that. Well, maybe, actually...I wanna talk about where we’re both at, how we’re feeling about being coupled up, that sort of thing. How do you reckon the last few days have been?” He watched her carefully.

“We’ve been really strong, I thought. How...was your date, then?” She flashed him an uncertain smile, fiddling with a loose curl.

“Good. That’s what I was hoping to hear. Just as long as you know that I’m really happy, too. Chelsea spent most of it chattering, a lot of it was related to you. I meant it earlier when I said you were the one I like. Do you reckon you wanna carry on getting to know each other then?”

“I want to be with you, of course I do. I’m glad you think that too, I agree, so much,” Alecto rambled, giving him a genuine smile. He mirrored her, a grin forming on his face. He leaned over and kissed her. She felt her heart racing in her chest, and the spark growing brighter in her palm. Her lips tingled as he pulled away, and she blinked, eyes wide. The way the conversation had begun terrified her slightly and left her nerves slightly in bits.

“I’m so happy you said that. My heart was pounding out of my chest.” He moved closer to her, gently linking hands.

“You feel the same then, right…?” She was a little scared of the answer.  _ Please, please be real! You’re fed up with people asking you out as a joke, like it would be such an impossible thing to love someone like you.  _

“I think so, yeah. It was unexpected to meet you at first, seeing someone on TV gives you a completely different idea of them to who they truly are. You’re not my usual type,but you completely blew me away. You have a quiet confidence, not the type to speak up in a group, but when you do, the world listens. You have such a big heart, always true to yourself and don’t pretend to be someone you’re not. You compared yourself to a pineapple once, which does fit. You’re spiky on the outside, which puts people off at first, but have a sweet centre.” He stroked her cheek, pausing momentarily, looking at her with complete affection. “You keep your look more simple which only draws the eyes to your gifts. You’re so much more than your outside, you’re smart and funny too. You captivate me, completely. Being with you has changed me, everyday is different, a little better with you by my side.”

Alecto blinked back tears,slightly stunned, the heartfelt speech touching deep within her.

“So...we stay together?” she asked to confirm.

He chuckled. “Of course we stay together! Unless you’ve changed your mind already?” He winked and grinned at her. The fire pit crackled, spitting amber sparks into the darkness. 

“Are you kidding? Nope, you’re very much stuck with me.” She laughed, poking him in the side. 

He watched her carefully, like he was studying her. “Your eyes, they’re so beautiful, sparkling even. The fire light shifted their colour again, it’s captivating.” He paused. “You’re captivating.”

“You’re sweet,” she smiled, shifting her eyes away, uncomfortable with the attention. “It’s cold out here, so let’s head back.” He nodded and Alecto linked arms with him as they headed inside. She smiled to herself, feeling like she was walking on air, the warm silence between them welcoming.

Lucas and Alecto split off to get ready for bed. Alecto was brushing her teeth in the bathroom when Marisol wandered in, raising her eyebrows at the sight of Alecto dancing a bit in place, having lost herself in thoughts of Lucas. 

“Hey, Alecto.” She stopped, leaning against the sink.

“Hebbo guhduth.”  _ Toothpaste, don’t forget toothpaste. _ Alecto’s cheeks flushed slightly, dropping eye contact.

“Huh?” Marisol shrugged, looking confused.

Alecto spat out her toothpaste.

“Hello gorgeous.” She winked at Marisol, then regretted it.  _ Wow! You're a serious cheeseball. _

She blushed, hiding behind a curtain of hair.

“Oooh! Well, ‘Hebbo guhduth’ to you too, gorgeous.” Marisol moved the hair from Alecto’s face, her hand appearing to linger. She winked in return. 

“Well, how’s the quest for Villa peace coming along? I saw you chatting to a few people earlier. Looked promising,” Marisol mused watching her with interest. Alecto felt strange, vulnerable even without her glasses and it was equally as odd to see Marisol bare faced before her. 

“Yeah, I spoke to Priya, Lottie and Chelsea. And...I thought you and Bobby were going to help, guess that was a mistake. Felt like a group project, having to pick up the slack for others.” she eyed Marisol, noticing her wince slightly.

“Well, I spoke to Hope about it today. But she’s closer to you than to me. Bobby had a chat with Lottie, but mainly he’s been speaking to Noah today. Fat lot of good that’s been, given how things are with him and Hope at the moment. But then the Villa wasn’t built in a day…” Marisol dropped her gaze for a small instant. “You did have to do most of it. I...I’m sorry for not helping you more than I could have. You’re so talented at sorting things out, I forget that you struggle with it. You come across so confident on the outside, but I suppose that’s a mask?”

Alecto nodded. “Peacemaking was hard, but at least Lottie apologised. Genuinely, too.”

“Lottie apologised?” Marisol stared at her, looking surprised, and almost a little hurt. She shifted on her feet, fiddling with her hair.

“Yes. But I don’t fully trust her. You’re my best friend, along with Hope.  _ Nothing _ can change that. So please don’t worry.” Alecto smiled, going to push her glasses up her nose but forgetting she wasn’t wearing them. “Thanks to you too, for apologizing. I’m literally a socially awkward mess who hates confrontation, so it was difficult, yes. Teamwork means all of us doing it, not leaving it to just me.”

Marisol raised the toothbrush to her mouth, but hesitated, setting it down instead.

“I promise to do better next time. But putting all that aside for a moment…” She took a step towards Alecto,her fingers brushing the skin of Alecto’s arm.“Let me just say this. When you’re done having your fun with the boys...come find me.” 

With that she sauntered out of the bathroom. Her toothbrush lay unused on the side, still loaded with toothpaste. 

“W..wait, you forgot--” Alecto reacted late, calling after Marisol. But she was gone. Alecto’s arm reverberated with the warmth of Marisol’s fingers.  _ The vulnerability was unexpected. But that is understandable. She really doesn’t want to lose you. _

Alecto made her way into the bedroom, heading directly to Lucas. He smiled and pulled back the duvet, snuggling up to her, leaning in to kiss her. She rested a finger against his lips, and he stopped.

“No?” He watched her with confusion.

She smiled, lowered her finger, and moved in to kiss him.

“Yes.”

Alecto pressed her lips against his, feeling his heart hammering against her chest. She wrapped her arms around his neck and sank into the kiss, drawing it out before curling back to her side of the bed to catch her breath. The last thing she saw before the lights went out was Marisol walking back to the bathroom. Their eyes met for a brief moment, Marisol’s coffee coloured eyes flickering with sadness. Her chest ached at the look she had seen, Marisol’s unhappiness burned into her head. She curled into Lucas, closing her eyes and trying to forget. Forget the way Marisol had looked at her. What had caused it. Why it mattered to her so much. She eventually sank into a deep sleep, focusing on Lucas and forgetting Marisol and her beautiful, somber eyes.


End file.
